


The Hellgirl and the Lord of Pandemonium

by Destinyfucker



Category: Jigoku Shoujo | Hell Girl, Nurarihyon no Mago | Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan
Genre: Action & Romance, Anime/Manga Fusion, Crossover, Drama & Romance, Eventual Romance, F/M, Forbidden Love, Gen, Going to Hell, Japanese Culture, Japanese Mythology & Folklore, Manga & Anime, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2020-09-02 04:30:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 42,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20270041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Destinyfucker/pseuds/Destinyfucker
Summary: Trouble strikes Ukiyoe town, all because of a certain website known as the Hotline to Hell, gaining infamy amongst its town's residents. News reach the Nura household, and Nurarihyon decides to try this out, to see who the Hellgirl is, using his grandson, Rikuo, as bait.





	1. Hellgirl and Lord of Pandemonium

**Author's Note:**

> First published on June 18, 2012 @fanfiction.net

In Ukiyoe town, a rumor has been spreading that there's a website known as _**jigokutsushin**_. It is said that a person can only access it every midnight.

The Nura clan, a great family of demons, has been curious about this situation, especially its Third Heir, Rikuo Nura. He has been hearing people saying things like "the Hell girl will appear once you've clicked _send,_" or "the Hell girl will bring you down with her unimaginable illusions." More of these are being said, especially by yokai who were able to access it. Nobody knows who made this rumor. It might be a student, a kid, a girl, a boy, a stupid old man, a drunken woman, or maybe it was the Hell girl herself. It is just a freakin' hint, though.

**Nura Main House at 6 p.m.**

Rikuo, in his human form, was outside his room, looking at the dark sky, waiting for the new moon to come out. Though, it's unexpected it would come out late.

"Master, is something the matter?" Tsurara, Rikuo's most trusted attendant, went to comfort him.

"I guess..." he showed her a bit of a smiley face, and then later, turned into a dark frown. "I guess I'm just worried about some trivial matters... That's all. But hey, there's nothing to be afraid about, right, Tsurara?"

"Master... I don't know much about what you are trying to say. But please... Feel free to tell me." Tsurara replied with a smile. She can feel the fear in Rikuo... Not the fear that he instills within human beings, but the fear he instills in himself. Now she knows what he's trying to say.

"Lord Rikuo, it has to be _that_ rumor, right?" she asked without any hesitations.

"Huh?" Rikuo took a look at Tsurara, who now knew what he was thinking. "So, you realized?" he asked.

"Many people are suffering, and they are now actually going to hell. A person who has a grudge with another person can just use _that_ site, and then send them to hell. I'm even quite scared. What of someone who has a grudge against me who knows _that_ site would actually send me to hell? Now I'm worried about myself, even though I should be worrying about those people. I'm such a coward..." Rikuo uttered the last sentence to himself.

  
He finally expressed his fear to Tsurara, who was trying hard not to get to him.

"Master, please... We'll try our best to help you." Tsurara said showing her bright smile. "You have to stay strong, even in the heat of fighting. Lord Rikuo, you can do whatever you want. You are the Third Heir of the Nura clan, after all. Please remember that we are all here to support you. And we will never hold you back. We did sakazuki with you, and now we will always fight beside you. Please... Lord Rikuo... Please stay strong."

"Tsurara..." Rikuo uttered.

"By the way, Master, the former commander is calling you, hehe! That's what I came here for, actually. Please forgive me for not telling you this earlier." Tsurara bowed as she walked away to the kitchen, specifically.

"No, it's fine." Rikuo smiled. He stood up, and then went to the Nura clan's meeting room.

Aligned in each side of the room were all the sub-clans' heads, and as Rikuo opened the door, he transformed into his night form.

"Ahh, Rikuo." Nurarihyon, the former Supreme Commander of the clan sighed when Rikuo arrived.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting." Rikuo said as he walked inside the room and got himself a comfortable cushion to sit at beside his grandfather. "What do you want from me, old man?" Rikuo asked.

"We seem to have a crisis here in town." Nurarihyon said.

"A crisis? What is it?" Rikuo asked.

"I'm sure you have already heard about this rumor, Rikuo." Nurarihyon replied.

"Rumor, you say? Don't tell me it's-" Rikuo was cut off when his grandfather nodded._ Ahh, yes._ It's sure to be _**it**._ There is no other answer to the question.

"We have to know who in the world is running that website. The **jigokutsushin**." Nurarihyon declared. Everyone in the room was amazed by the sudden decision of the First Heir. "I'll have Rikuo go into the website."

  
"W-what?" Rikuo was shocked when he was the one chosen to use the internet.

"Rikuo, you'll have to be the one to find who this **Hell girl** is. You have to ask her why she's doing this. We are all in fear if we get sent to hell." Nurarihyon said.

N-no way! The Third Heir is gonna see and talk to the Hell girl? That feels quite impossible..._ I even can't help but laugh about it myself. _

_But... Sure... I'll talk to the Hell girl. _

_After all..._  
  
**"I AM THE LORD OF PANDEMONIUM."** Rikuo declared, smirking.


	2. Continuation

3 days later, a perfect afternoon of a Sunday, Rikuo, with his human friends, Kana, Yura, Kiyotsugu, Shima, Torii and Natsumi were strolling around the Ukiyoe Sacred Shrine of Hell,which, as Kiyotsugu discovered, is a passageway to the **Hell girl's** home.

  
Rikuo, although only forced to go with them, got interested about what he was going to discover. He wasn't able to get into the website on the day after the clan meeting since he fell asleep; he wasn't able to go again the following day because he was fighting with some evil yokai who dared go against his declaration of hurting human beings, but now, this is definitely **his chance**. To be with the Hell girl.

"Rikuo, is something wrong?" Kana suddenly appeared close to his face when he was spacing out while Kiyotsugu was lecturing them about the passageway of that shrine.

"Huhh? Oh, sorry Kana. I guess I was spacing out..." Rikuo replied with a slight smile. *sigh...* naturally... He would have been caught in a daze with all this heat inside him. He can't stand that Hell girl stuff... Especially if he was with his friends. They would get hurt. "Kana, do you also know about this **jigokutsushin** website?" Rikuo asked his friend who was right in front of him facing back.

"_Jigokutsushin_? Well... yeah. I've heard rumors about it also... But I don't wanna believe in such things. Although... You know, Rikuo..." she went close to his face. "I won't ever try to do anything with _that_website... It's giving me the creeps."

_Phew... I'm so glad... I'm so relieved... Well... at least Kana won't do anything stupid. But maybe if someone were to do something malicious to her, the she would be forced to go to that website... It's totally **unacceptable**! That fear... I wonder if that Hell girl is powerful... _Rikuo, on his way home, played with his mind.

**Nura Main House at 8 p.m.**

Rikuo, in his yokai form, was sitting at the sakura tree, drinking sake, and looking at the new moon of the dark sky. He kept on thinking about _Hell girl_... He can't get it off his mind...

"Master, are you still going to get into _that_ website?" Kappa, who was beneath the tree, asked.

"Why? Do you have a problem?" Rikuo answered back with a question, and then he drank his sake.

"Master, that **Hell girl **_is_ **dangerous**. One of my comrades tried to get into _that_ website, then he told me what happened."

"Oh?" Rikuo jumped down from the tree. "Tell me what he told you, then." Rikuo said with a smirk on his face.

**LATER...**

"I understand. The person who sends someone to hell also goes to hell after he dies?" Rikuo was intrigued with the explanation Kappa gave him. It was so damn interesting! _Nothing could ever scrap my bones like this, ever!_  
"So what do I do now?" Rikuo uttered to himself.  
_"The only way to have her is to call her... Through the internet."_ Rikuo thought.

"Master, I'll be there with you. You might need some back up." Kappa sentenced himself.

"Uhn. Thanks." Rikuo nodded.

* * *

**0:00, in Rikuo's bedroom:**

Rikuo was alone, having at hand only his laptop. Everyone else, including Nurarihyon was outside waiting for the discovery.

"Master, the website is **jigokutsushin dot net**. You have to write the name of the person you want to take revenge on in the box that will be shown, and when you press _enter_, the **Hell girl **with appear. She will be giving you a straw doll. And when she does, you can finally talk to her." Kappa told Rikuo.

"Yeah, I understand." Rikuo replied.

_Alright! He's finally in it! Now... He only has to write the name of the person he wants to take revenge on. But then... Who is it gonna be?_

"I'm having a hard time thinking about this..." Rikuo thought to himself.

"Rikuo..." Nurarihyon called out from outside the room.

"Old man?" Rikuo got pressured.

Nurarihyon whispered a name... No one else could hear it, even the ones beside him... He sent it with Fear..

"_Enma... Ai._"

Rikuo, who got pressured, was shocked. He was going to send someone he didn't even know.  
**"**_You have got to be kidding me, old man." _Rikuo thought. But then again, he doesn't have a choice. So he did put Enma Ai in the box. And then, he clicked enter.

A few seconds later, he heard that frightening music. A frightening sound. That which is used to show real demons from hell. Those bells... That evil stick...

"You called?" a soft voice asked Rikuo, who was startled from the appearance. He looked at the girl with long, straight black layered hair with a fringe, ruby-red eyes and pale skin, who's wearing a black school uniform.

"Who are you?" Rikuo stood and asked.

"I am Enma Ai."

"What? You're the **Hell girl**?" Rikuo's eyes opened wide as he looked at the girl.

_This is bad... The person I'm actually sending to hell is the _ _ **Hell girl ** _ _herself! What should I do?_


	3. Lord of Pandemonium meets Hellgirl

"_Enma... Ai._"

"_Enma... Ai._"

"_Enma... Ai._"

_That name... it kept on appearing over and over again in my mind... I couldn't think properly, that website, jigokutsushin... Fear that kept on coming back whenever I thought about that._

_  
Her appearance... Her voice... Her attitude... Her objective... I want to know everything... I want to know... _ _ **WHO SHE REALLY IS.** _

Rikuo, who got pressured, was shocked. He was going to send someone he didn't even know.

  
"_You have got to be kidding me, old man." _Rikuo thought. But then again, he doesn't have a choice. So he did put Enma Ai in the box. And then, he clicked enter.

A few seconds later, he heard that frightening music. A frightening sound. That which is used to show real demons from hell. Those bells... That evil stick...

"You called?" a soft voice asked Rikuo who was startled from the appearance. He looked at the girl with long, straight black layered hair with a fringe, ruby-red eyes and pale skin who is wearing a black school girl uniform.

"Who are you?" Rikuo stood and asked.

"I am Enma Ai." "What? You're the **Hell girl**?"

_This is bad... The person I'm actually sending to hell is the _ _ **Hell girl ** _ _herself! What should I do?_

* * *

"You want to send me to Hell?" Hell girl asked Rikuo who was staring at her eyes.

They had the same eyes. It had the colour **RED**.

_Red meant blood. Red was for evil. Red was for a demon. Red was for lust. Red, red, everything red._

"Take this." She gave a straw doll to Rikuo. "If you really wish to exact your revenge, you have to pull that red string. Once you've pulled it, you officially enter into a contract with me."

Rikuo was frozen. He didn't know what the Hell girl was talking about. _What about that straw doll? What about that "exacting revenge" thingy? What about that contract?_

"The person you wish to exact revenge on will be immediately taken to Hell."

"Taken to Hell?" Rikuo wondered.

"However, if I do this, when you die your soul will also go to Hell."

"What?"

"When one person is cursed, two graves are dug. Your soul will forever wander, never finding happiness or contentment." she finished.

"_Jigoku..shoujo_." Rikuo started to say something out of scratch. He never thought about conversing with somebody living in a different world from him.

"If you don't want to do it, then you can just give the doll back to me." Hell girl offered a hand. That is, **if** Rikuo were to ever give it back.

"_Hey, Rikuo, this is your chance to invite the Hell girl."_

_Old man? But then..._

"_Tell her who you really are."_

_You better be responsible if she rejects me!_

"Do you want to say something to me?" the Hell girl asked, looking at Rikuo.

"What?" he replied.

"Perhaps you can't say it yet, since you're new to this world." she stated.

"We both live in two different worlds, Enma Ai. But I'm not giving up on you." Rikuo declared with a smirk on his face.

"What do you want from exacting revenge? Why do you have to do all this?" Rikuo stood from his cushion and tried to go near the Hell girl. He really wanted to hold her tight so she won't go away. But, this is their first meeting, so he won't do anything stupid.

"Go out with me for a while." Rikuo said.

The Hell girl, who didn't have any emotions, stared at him for a little while and wondered what she should do. (Without showing any emotions and all that.)  
"Why?" she asked.

"I want to know everything about you." Rikuo smirked as he looked deeply into her eyes.

Suddenly, two strangers, an old man and a woman appeared beside the Hell girl. Those strangers were no other than the assistants of the Hell girl, named Wanyuudou and Hone-onna.  
"We won't let you get through this!" Hone-onna protested.  
"You are not allowed to go with the Mistress no matter what the case is." Wanyuudou followed.

"You guys don't have the right to say that!" And before Rikuo appeared his parade, The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons.  
  
"W-what are you all doing here?" Rikuo questioned them. He thought he and the Hell girl would have some privacy, but it turned out to be a miscalculation.

"Watch your mouth, woman!" Kejoro exclaimed to Hone-onna.

"Or what? Old woman?" Hone-onna smirked. Kejoro fell mad.

"Stop this nonsense all of you." Nurarihyon came in while smoking his pipe. "You must be Enma Ai, am I right?"

"Yes, she is." Wanyuudou answered for her.

"And what is it that you want from her, old man?" Hone-onna asked.

"We are yokais, and we rule the spirit world." He replied.

"Humph. This is the Hell girl, the one who rules the underworld." Hone-onna praised as she shook her hand.

"Mistress, what is your decision?" Wanyuudou asked Hell girl.

"As long as the straw doll is with him, we should be watching by." Hone-onna said.  
They always have to keep watch at the person who holds the doll, no matter what the situation may be.

"There is no need for that. Let's go home." The Hell girl declared as she passed by Rikuo and his group.

"But Mistress?" Hone-onna was surprised by the sudden change of her Mistress's mind. Rikuo was also wondering why she didn't answer his offer.

_Great. Terrific. How stupid. She didn't even answer me. I can't let that happen! I won't!_

"Enma Ai..!" Rikuo called to her.  
  
She stopped in her tracks and looked back at Rikuo. "Is there anything else you want?" she asked.

"**I want you.**" was Rikuo's only reply.

Everyone, except Nurarihyon, was shocked. _WHAAAAAAAT! MASTER WANTS THE HELL GIRL?_ He even said it with a smirk.

"Now will you go out with me?" Rikuo asked her again.

She couldn't answer the question... Not so suddenly. Impossible.

"Alright." She finally replied.

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT? EVERYONE HAD THEIR MOUTHS OPEN. THEY WERE BEYOND SHOCKED. IT WAS LIKE GOING TO HEAVEN EVEN THOUGH YOU WERE THE DEVIL.


	4. CONFRONTATION WITH THE HELL GIRL (Silent Friendship)

"Go out with me for a while." Rikuo said. The Hell girl, who didn't have any emotions, stared at him for a little while and wondered what she should do.

_Maybe this should take a while to get her._

"Why?" she asked.

"I want to know everything about you." Rikuo smirked as he deeply looked into her eyes.

_Trying hard... But it's still not enough._

"Stop this nonsense all of you." Nurarihyon came in while smoking his pipe.

_Great. Terrific. How stupid. She didn't even answer me. I can't let that happen! I won't!_

"Enma Ai..!" Rikuo called to her. She stopped in her tracks and looked at Rikuo.

"Is there anything else you want?" she asked.

"**I want you.**" Was Rikuo's only reply.

"Now will you go out with me?" Rikuo asked her again.

"Alright." She finally replied.

The next night, after the proposal Rikuo just made, while he was sitting on the branch of the sakura tree, his Night Parade of One Hundred Demons kept on questioning him.

"Master! Why on earth would you want Hell girl?" was the question everyone was asking.

"It was the only way to know more about her, so I can stop this cycle of hatred and revenge." was his only answer.

**Meanwhile, in the Nura clan meeting room:**

_Rikuo... you sure have a great attitude towards that kind of woman._

"Supreme Commander, do you want the Third Heir to be like this?" Gyuki asked the thinking Nurarihyon.  
  
"Yes, Gyuki's correct. Do you have something planned for the Third Heir? I never thought he and that Hell girl would create a relationship." Karasu-tengu shared his opinion.  
  
Nurarihyon kept silent. He just kept on drinking his tea and didn't do anything.

_Rikuo... maybe... just maybe... that Hell girl is more powerful than you._

**Rikuo on the sakura tree:**

Amidst looking at the new moon, Rikuo suddenly heard the voice of the Hell girl calling for him, making him drift into a village in the twilight in the blink of an eye.

"What is this?" Rikuo uttered. He was still sitting on the sakura tree, but when he saw a small house (the one and only house) in front of him, he jumped down and took a look in front of it.

"Why are you here?" a woman said. It was Hone-onna, the one who refused to give her Mistress to that yokai.

"I didn't come here on purpose, woman. I was looking at the moon peacefully when I was transferred to this place so suddenly." He replied.

"Hone-onna..." Wanyuudou, the other assistant of the Hell girl called her. "We can't interfere with their affair."

"What do you mean affair? They're not even considered as lovers yet!" she protested.

"You fool. Just give it up. We can't do anything. She decided to do this in her own. But yet..." Wanyuudou and Hone-onna looked at Rikuo and scanned his entire demon form.  
  
"Nura boy, I want you to remember this." Hone-onna started.

"What is it?"

"You may be the Third Heir of the famous and strong Nura clan... But there is **no way **you can defeat the Mistress. She's the Hell girl, after all." She declared.

"What do you mean?" Rikuo questioned.

"Disturbing?" someone who had such a soft and sweet voice said. They were all shocked to see who it was.

"M-mistress?" Wanyuudou and Hone-onna screamed.

"Ai?" Rikuo only said her name. Her first name. _How weird... I'm already calling her with her first name.!_

"Wanyuudou... Hone-onna..." she said.

"We're terribly sorry, Mistress." They apologized, and then walked away. They walked far away from their Mistress and the yokai. Enough to give them privacy. Enough to leave them... **Alone**.

"umm... Don't you have work to do?" Rikuo asked. He has always known that she has always been sending people to Hell.  
  
But why? Why isn't she working right now?

"No one has called me yet." The Hell girl started to step forward, signaling Rikuo to follow her.

They took a walk to the pond, at the back of the small house.  
  
Enma Ai stopped in her tracks when she saw Rikuo stop to look around.  
  
"What is this place?" he asked.

"This is... my home." She replied. "This place is just a replica of a village that burned down six centuries ago."

"Six centuries? Then... Does that mean you've been the Hell girl for the past centuries?"

"Right." She played with a pink paper balloon that was left on the ground near the pond.

_Why? Why is she like that? I couldn't imagine her playing those stuff like that..._

The atmosphere was so calm... Rikuo, who kept on staring at the Hell girl, was hypnotized by her eyes. They both had red eyes after all. He was entranced by her eyes. But then, he fell into a nightmare. As Enma Ai noticed him, she also looked at him, which brought him to a glance of Hell.

_It's all hot in here. What is this?_

Everything was on fire. Then, the dead came and grabbed Rikuo.

They tore his clothes and began to eat him. Rikuo saw a big black spider above him, saying that he is no match for the Hell girl. After realizing what was happening to him, Rikuo screamed.

_!NO! NO!_

"Rikuo..." a voice called for him.

"What?" he muttered.

"Rikuo..."

He saw a girl looking up at him. He was on her lap. They were looking at each other. Her hands were holding his head. Her face...

_A face... of a... woman..?_

_ _

"Rikuo."  
  
He suddenly gasped and realized who the girl was.  
  
"Ai?" he uttered.  
  
"What just happened?" he asked.  
  
"That was merely an illusion, you don't have to believe in it." She replied.  
  
"But... that was like... it was like..."  
  
"Hell."  
  
"You knew about it?"  
  
"I was the one who made you get a glimpse of Hell. You have a straw doll. You entered **my** name on the box of the website. I am the one you want to take revenge on."  
  
"But that was an accident.."  
  
"An accident or not, you did it. So it is my job to see through you and show you what Hell is."  
  
"You want me to know what it is?"  
  
"It is merely an illusion, I told you. You don't have to believe in it, Rikuo."

_Is it distrust?_

Enma Ai and Rikuo again walked together around the village. Twilight... as always will be.

Now, Enma Ai was holding Rikuo's right hand, so he doesn't fall into any trouble. She is the protector of that village. She is the Hell girl, and it's one of her duties.

While walking, they didn't notice that there were two people following them. Of course, it was no other than Wanyuudou and Hone-onna.  
  
"Tch. I can't believe what they are actually doing." Hone-Onna complained.  
  
"We just have to wait. We have to wait until that yokai pulls the string."  
  
"But won't that mean Mistress will bring herself to Hell?"  
  
"No. It's illogical. Although we know that from the beginning, Mistress was never gonna appear in front of that kid. He sent her name, and that's not allowed. But she seemed to have accepted it. So I don't know what we're gonna do."  
  
"That's just impossible."

After spending time with the Hell girl, Rikuo was brought back to the real world. He was sitting on the branch of the sakura tree again.

_It's kind of a weird thing. The Hell girl is actually..._

"We have made a silent relationship." Enma Ai stated.

She was standing on another branch, near Rikuo. And they were both looking at the moon.

"Yeah, I know." Rikuo replied.

_Maybe... I wanted her more than I thought._

This is only a first time. The relationship might turn out quite miserable. But try. Try your best.

"Ai, will you stop this cycle?" Rikuo began to ask.

"Why?"

_Crap. I don't think this is gonna be good._


	5. FROM BEYOND THE TWILIGHT (Imprisoned Girl)

"Ai, will you stop this cycle?" Rikuo began to ask.

_Dude, think about the question you are asking. This is going to ruin the chance of you having a silent friendship with the Hell girl! Why? Why do you have to do this?_

"Why?" Enma Ai questioned.

_Now look. This is impossible. Just impossible. I don't know what to say anymore. I have to keep my mouth shut. But then... If I do this, then... Great. Just great. Now I don't know what to do. Crap. I don't think this is going to be good._

"No reason. I just want to ask." Rikuo said hesitatingly. His eyes were looking at a different direction.  
How can he answer her question? It was a 'why' for crying out loud! And mostly, people, even the brightest ones can't answer immediately a question that states a 'why'.

Enma Ai, the Hell girl just stared at him. She did not do anything. She just stood there, looking at him. She has no emotions, so why would she be dramatic about it? She doesn't have to cry and say 'because... I just... I just can't!'. Nope. No. No way. Never.

"I can't stop this cycle of hatred." She finally answered to his horrible and disastrous question.

"What?" he finally looked at her.

"No. I cannot just do it. That is my job. You can't stop me from doing It." she finished. ...  
Rikuo, again, remained silent.

_Why? Why? Answer me, damn it! Why can't you just live a normal life?_

"Ai..." he started to utter a sound of grief. He clenched his fists and looked downwards with a dark face. He was so mad about her life. It drove him crazy. Just by looking at her, he knows that she has been living a life of pain, sadness, grief, betrayal, darkness, and evil. But, then again, she was only forced to do it. How can someone as light and kind like her have a dark heart full of something bad? That's not who she is.  
"Ai..." he uttered her name again.

"There is something I can tell you, though." She stated.

"Huh?" he looked at her."What do you want to talk about?" he asked.

"Perhaps... is it time to die?" Enma Ai said.

"WHAT-?" Rikuo got cut off when he was suddenly teleported back to the village, and the village was raging in fire.  
"W-WHAT IS THIS?" he said in so much shock in his eyes.

_What the hell is this? What... is... she... doing?_

Suddenly, Enma Ai, the Hell girl, appeared before him. She was wearing a black kimono with floral designs.

_W-what is this? Why did she suddenly rage on me? Is it my fault?_

"I NEVER DID ANYTHING TO YOU!" Rikuo closed his eyes and screamed. He thought he never did anything harmful to the Hell girl. To Enma Ai.  
But then... Why is she doing this to him? Does she want to kill him for the sake of not ending the cycle of revenge? The cycle of hatred?

"You... You should have just left me all alone." Enma Ai began.

She and Rikuo are in a void. A void... All that is black and colourless. It is lifeless. There is only one colour. A colour darker than black. There were only the both of them.  
A standing girl and a kneeling boy. The girl, oh, so powerful girl. Having a closed heart, she showed no emotions. But, in reality, deep inside her was... **HATRED AND DESPAIR**.  
The boy, oh, so powerful boy. He who rules all demons. He who is the Supreme Commander of all yokai. He who leads the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons. He had an open heart, he had friends, and he had a loving family. However, at the same time, he had enemies.

**Rikuo Nura. Enma Ai.**

Those names stated hold power, they hold bonds, they hold leadership, they hold demons, they hold the underworld, and most of all, they hold **LOVE**. Everything from within, and everything from without, they made love. A demonic love.

"Rikuo. Let me show you the past I have been through all these years." She stated.

"What? Why?" he asked.

"_No one can promise that they will never hurt you, because one at a time or another they will, the real promise is, if the time you spent together will be worth the pain in the end_." she finished.

"Ai." Was all Rikuo can say. He couldn't say anything else. He did not have the strength to do so. He was weak. It was because he knew that he is no match for the Hell girl. He knew that her power was overwhelming. That is why he did not fight back. Although it made him mad, it also made him sad. He went crazy because of this girl. Only this girl made him crazy. He got insane the first time they met. He did it again when he was on her lap. He did it when the both of them were holding hands. She was like... She was **something different** from all the other women he met. He almost, just almost, fell with Tsurara; or to Kana; or even to Yura. However, this time, everything was different. This girl is unique. She is so rare that even the luckiest ones won't even find her. Yes, he is the greatest man in the world. Let alone the universe.

Rikuo was brought to the village, where he saw a sacrificing ceremony. He was sure he saw the villagers, but he wasn't sure that the villagers saw him.

"What?... Ai?" he uttered to himself. He was curious about what was happening.

Enma Ai reveals her past to Rikuo. And so it happened.

> Ai began her career as the Hell Girl by her own act of vengeance on the villagers who sentenced her to a sacrificial death as part of their village's tradition. Her eyes, once a deep brown, turned red arguably at the point where Sentarou (her childhood friend and cousin who gave in under the villagers' pressure to bury her alive) gave the first shovel of soil onto her face. She broke out of her grave after a while, and took revenge on the entire village with her wrath, burning it to the ground. Her task of fulfilling other people's vengeance and ferrying people to Hell is her punishment, a task which she had performed for 400 years after that incident. A Spider, which is later revealed to be the God of Hell, gave her new life again and made a pact with her; in exchange for her immortal form, she cannot enter Hell and must remain on the shores of Hell, acting as the deliverer of people's hatred and vengeance. In order to serve these tasks, the God of Hell demanded that Ai forget her own hatred, numbing herself to the sufferings of others and becoming a mere observer of any happenings. If she hadn't accepted this punishment, the souls of her beloved ones would have to wander in Hell forever. Having no other choice, Ai agreed with the God of Hell and became the Hell Girl.

  
"Now you saw it?" Enma Ai asked Rikuo in his thoughts of what he just saw. He had a small amount of tears in his eyes, which he got because he saw how Enma Ai suffered.

_Why? Why did they do this to her? Why? I can't believe it... I just can't believe it... No wonder she can't end this cycle of hatred. It's impossible for her to end it. If she does, then all her loved ones will wander in Hell for eternity._

"Now I understand." Rikuo began. He was brought back to the Nura Main House. He and Enma Ai are sitting together outside his room, where they were near the sakura tree.  
When he knew Enma Ai was beside him on his right, he looked at her.

"Ai. You sure suffered a damn hard past." He said smirking.

"You don't know what is going to happen to you, even though my future was clear." She threw back at him. She was looking at the moon, and as Rikuo stared at her, he realized that her face was shining brightly, it was so beautiful. A dead drop beauty.

"Because you showed me, now I know what you're made of." Rikuo said. "I realized I can't let someone like you run off easily. You're trapped in my web. Enma Ai." He declared with a smirk.  
Enma Ai, although she didn't have any emotions, she looked at him, and when she did, she had a light pink blush on her face.

_Is she... Blushing?_

Rikuo... you idiot... Now you got even crazier than before. For the very first time, he saw Enma Ai, the Hell girl slip out some small emotions. And this emotion was called 'embarrassment'. She was so innocent, that she blushed for him. There is no way he can hold back.

Rikuo held her face with both of his hands, he took a small patch of hair that was stable on her left shoulder, and he kissed it. Oh, such a beautiful scene. He was kissing her hair! Oh my glob!

"W-what are you doing?" Enma Ai asked with a cracked voice. She couldn't speak because at the same time as Rikuo, she was also overwhelmed with emotions. She had to close her heart forever, but now, just for now, it opened a little bit.  
  
Rikuo, after kissing her hair, he pushed her, so the both of them could fall on the floor. She was lying down, with him on top. Both of his hands were on her hair that was spread on the ground. Both of his legs were on the sides, wherein he was trapping the Hell girl. Her arms were wide open, like she was in the position of hugging somebody.

"What are you doing?" she asked again. Although they were both in an awkward situation, they were both calm. Their hearts wouldn't race; it's as if this were all normal for them. This type of action is normal for the both of them. Why? Why do they feel calm about it?

_It's as if, I'm just doing something I have always been doing for a long time…_

"I can only advise you one thing if you will be a part of me." Rikuo started.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend." He declared.

Enma Ai gasped with confusion. The silent friendship they made won't be so silent after all. Is he recruiting her in his parade? Or is he doing this for something else?

"What do you want, Rikuo?" she asked.

"**I told you. Even before this friendship of ours started. Ai, I want you.**" He replied with a smirk.

"But then..." Enma Ai tried to let him go. She tried to get way. She doesn't want their present relationship to be gone. Their silent friendship is all that she has. She still has her job. And she needs to do it. Or else... "My loved ones will wander in Hell for all eternity." She uttered.

"I have an enemy in Hell. He is the Nue. And I'm going to defeat him." Rikuo stated.

"What?" Enma Ai questioned him. "But still..." she continued. "The one I am working for is the God of Hell. I can't let it go." She finished.

"You know what? You're an imprisoned girl, Ai." Rikuo said.

"That does not concern you."

"Oh yeah?"

Rikuo lowered his head, enough to go so close to the Hell girl's face.

"What do you plan on doing to me?" Enma Ai asked him.

"I want you to be mine. Just having you by my side will make everything brilliant. I can already imagine a future like that." Rikuo declared.  
  


Yes. With their powers combined, who can defeat them? The Hell girl and the Lord Of Pandemonium together? Guess who can defeat them?


	6. SWEET TRAP (Friends)

"You know what? You're an imprisoned girl, Ai."

"That does not concern you."

"Oh yeah?"

Rikuo lowered his head, enough to go so close to the Hell girl's face.

"What do you plan on doing to me?" Enma Ai asked him.

"I want you to be mine. Just having you by my side will make everything brilliant. I can already imagine a future like that." Rikuo declared.

* * *

The Hell girl and the Lord Of Pandemonium together? Guess who can defeat them?

_Yes, that's right. No one can defeat the both of us. We will be together as one. And this cycle of hatred can end._  
That is the trap I made for her. A girl in a very sweet trap shall soon be my property. She shall be mine. And I shall declare to everyone.  
  


**IN THE VILLAGE OF ETERNAL TWILIGHT, JUST AFTER RIKUO'S DECLARATION:**

Rikuo and Ai are in the small house where Rikuo meets Ai's grandmother. However, she isn't actually being seen by Rikuo, other than as a shadowy silhouette behind a paper screen. And she is spinning thread in her room.

"Ai? Ai? Is that you? Ai?" she asked.

"I'm here. Grandmother." Ai replied.

"Where have you been all day yesterday, Ai?"

"I have been with the Lord Of Pandemonium."

"The Lord of Pandemonium, eh, Ai?"

"Yes." They finished their conversation with just that. Rikuo was beginning to feel weird about the situation they are in, since Ai's grandmother is not talking him, nor is she doing anything. She just spins that thread. She cannot be seen. She can only be heard.

_That grandma is kind of weird. What is she though? Is she really a human being... No, maybe not. Maybe in reality, she is something else. Something not human, but... I don't know..._

Rikuo could feel the chills in his spine build up, and he shivered from the cold feeling he's getting. It's like Tsurara is blowing him air in a cold night.

_I can't seem to feel calm. I'm a little bit... Scared._

Rikuo could remain in his yokai form since the place he was in was located in a near-sunset. In the real world, it is morning.

"Ai, what are we going to do now?" Rikuo asked since they've been standing in front of the grandmother's room for quite a long period of time. It was so quiet. Nobody spoke.

"Rikuo." Ai held his hand and began to walk out the house.

"What?" Rikuo questioned.

"I'll be heading out now. Grandmother." Ai finished.

"Have a safe trip, Ai." The grandmother wished her well. Humph. She did not even speak to Rikuo. What a shame. That grandmother does not speak to anyone except for Ai.

Ai brings Rikuo back to the real world, where he transforms into human. It was 10 a.m.

"Ai?" Rikuo was curious about the sudden change of the situation.

_What kind of conversation was that? Was that it?_

"Were you happy?" Ai began to ask.

"Happy? About what?" Rikuo wondered.

"To see my grandmother."

"Your grandmother?" "No one could ever see her. And if ever someone did, they would run in terror forever." She stated.

"What? Why?"

"I only wanted you to meet her. That's all. Although she did not talk to you, she still knows that you are there. She does not talk to anyone except me. If she talked to someone else, I'd consider them very lucky. At least... You got to meet her." She finished.

_What? I don't understand t all._

"Rikuo, I'm going home." She started to walk away.

"Hey, wait!" Rikuo pulled her arm to stop her in her tracks.

"What do you want?"

"Why can't you stay?"

"You are still my client. Remember that. And as long as you have that doll, I'll be keeping watch over you."

"What-?" Rikuo was shocked when he looked at his free hand. He was actually holding the straw doll!

_W-what is this? Is she using tricks on me?_

"Wait... Why do I still have this doll?" He questioned her.

"You did not pull the string yet." She replied.

"What if I don't want it anymore?"

"You can give the doll back to me. It has been several days since you took hold of it."

"What's going to happen then?"

"We won't be seeing each other anymore."

"Tch. Fine, I'll keep it." Rikuo didn't want to lose her. This relationship of theirs is already gone far. He doesn't want it to break.

Ai disappeared, or, in another sentence, as the cherry petals flow over them, and as Rikuo's sight gets covered, she disappeared. She disappeared that easily. She was able to escape without any sweat. She's the Hell girl after all.

_Damn it! She did it so easily!_

Rikuo got mad about Ai brushing him off. He didn't want her to leave just yet. He wanted her to be with him.

**LATER THAT NIGHT, IN THE NURA CLAN MEETING ROOM:**

All the sub-clan leaders are gathered. Rikuo is in his night form sitting beside his grandfather, the former commander, Nurarihyon. They were going to have a clan meeting.

"Alright, everyone. Now we're on critical matters about Rikuo and Enma Ai's relationship." Nurarihyon started.

Everyone was amazed by the progress of their plan. To stop the jigokutsushin. To stop the cycle of hatred. It is all for their benefit. For them to gain peace. For them not to be worried about being sent to Hell.

"Former commander, Third Heir, we have done quite a progress toward this." A leader said. "

You're only thinking about yourselves, selfish fools." Rikuo said irritatingly. He was mad that they were going to stop what Ai was doing just for their benefit. He knew the reason why she was doing it. She is doing it for a reason. It was because she was forced into it. She does not want the souls of her loved ones to wander in Hell for all eternity. She wants them to be safe, even if it means working as the Hell girl forever. She forced herself to forget about her hatred and close her heart, just so she can protect her beloved souls. Everyone was shocked to hear the Third Heir's complaint. They began to question him. 'Why are you saying that?' 'Why?' 'What is that attitude?' 'Isn't this what we need to do?' were all they were uttering. Rikuo got even worse and more irritated.

"**WILL ALL OF YOU JUST SHUT UP?**" He finally burst out.

_You're all freaking noisy! Stop interrupting the meeting, bastards!_

"What the hell do you guys want from her? Don't you know that she's been suffering because of this?" he stated.

"Rikuo..." Nurarihyon tried to pat Rikuo's shoulder.

"Calm down, Third Heir." Karasu-tengu requested.

All of them felt stupid about even having this meeting if the Third Heir was just going to shout at them. But no. How can they predict the future?

"Tell us what happened to the both of you, Rikuo." Nurarihyon said.

Everyone was wondering why the Third Heir was mad and irritated by their hopes about ending the Hell girl? About ending her job? The Nura clan and the Hell girl are enemies. That's what everyone thought. Except for Rikuo. He never thought Enma Ai as his enemy. He thought about her as his friend. A rare and brilliant friend. She was more like a special girl for him, in which he always itched to protect her from harm. Every time he sees her, or even just takes a glance at her, his heart would open. He wants her to be beside him no matter where he goes. And he is curious about this theory of his.

_Why? Why do they have to do this?_

"She is innocent, no matter how you put it." Rikuo began to speak.

Everyone was left with the sound 'oohhh', shocked.

"Innocent, eh?" Nurarihyon smirked. "Now I know." he said.

"What do you know old man?" Rikuo looked at his grandpa who was so happy and was smirking. Karasu-tengu and everyone else too were looking at Rikuo the same way Nurarihyon was looking at him.  
  
There was something he didn't know. He didn't know a trivia. While he and Enma Ai were together, some member of the Nura clan were watching over them secretly. Even Enma Ai won't notice his or her presence. And each move they made, the member reported it to Nurarihyon, and the rest of the sub-clan leaders. They were always fascinated by the events happening to the Hell girl and the Lord Of Pandemonium. Even at the beautiful scene where they were about to make love, someone was watching them from a distance. Now, the meeting room had a red atmosphere.

They were all smirking at Rikuo, who was now curious about their sudden change of heart.

"W-what are you smiling at?" he demanded an answer from all of them.

"Oh, my, Third Heir..." they all had funny faces. Their smiles were so wide that Rikuo got pissed off by them.

"What are you hiding from me?" he asked again.

"Rikuo, you really treat that woman different from other women." Nurarihyon now patted his grandson's head.

"Cut it old man!" he slapped away his grandpa's hand. "Tell me what all of you are thinking!"

Now everyone went closer to the Third Heir, still having their wide smiles stuck on their face.

_W-what the hell is this? Why are all of them looking at me this way?_

"Rikuo." A girl wearing a black kimono with floral designs appeared before him.

Everyone moved back and was shocked by the appearance of the girl. The girl had white skin, she had red eyes, and she had black hair.

"Enma... Ai..?" Rikuo uttered.

"Maybe all of you have gone far enough to underestimate your Master." She said.

"And who are you?" Nurarihyon and the others asked.

And she only had one reply.

"Enma, Ai."

"Hell girl?" everyone screamed.

"Ai. Why are you here?" Rikuo asked the girl who was standing in front of him.

"Are you attempting to trap me? Or do you only want me to end this cycle of hatred? Nura clan?" she asked.  
She knew what they were doing. She knew all of it from the beginning. She had the ability to predict what is going to happen. She had the ability to interact with it.  
"How would you like to see what death is like?" Ai trapped the leaders into an illusion, causing all of them to break down because of the terror. They did not even fight it. They saw it once, and they dropped dead.

Nurarihyon, Rikuo and Ai went outside the room, which meant that Ai did not include the two commanders in the illusion. She was holding Rikuo's hand, and Rikuo did the same.

"Humph. I knew it, Rikuo." Nurarihyon smirked again.

"What is it this time old man?" Rikuo demanded.

"You are just like me before, when I wanted your grandmother." He said.

Rikuo was overwhelmed of emotion.

"Get on out there, Rikuo." His grandfather declared.

Rikuo tightened the grip he had on Ai's hand. Now he's sure that he won't hold back.

He and Ai later on went to the village of eternal twilight, where they sat on the ground near the pond. Rikuo was resting on Ai's lap.

"Won't you return the doll to me yet? You don't need it anymore." Ai asked.

"You think so?" Rikuo caressed her face. "If I were to do that, then you would disappear from my sight. So it's a no." He finished as he closed his eyes.

"You don't have to." Ai said. She looked at Rikuo's sleeping face, but still showed no emotion. Even though they were doing this, even though she is doing this, she is still the same Hell girl. No changes at all.

_Just having you by my side will make everything brilliant, Ai._

She thought about that sentence he said. She thought about it deeply.

"_Life is an awful, ugly place to not have a best friend._" She thought.

"We'll be friends forever, won't we, Rikuo?" she uttered.

"Even longer." Rikuo uttered his answer.

She thought he would never answer since he is already sleeping.


	7. BROKEN THREADS (Distrust)

"We'll be friends forever, won't we, Rikuo?" she uttered.

"Even longer." Rikuo uttered his answer.

* * *

"Ai? Ai? What seems to be the matter, Ai?" Enma Ai's grandmother calls and worries about her, but she was still spinning the thread.

Enma Ai was looking at the black hand mirror with cherry blossom designs at the back and on the handle which Rikuo gave to her a week back.

"_In exchange, I'll be having this doll for a longer while." Rikuo in his night form gave a hand mirror to Enma Ai in the village of eternal twilight. "Don't worry, I'll take care of this." He said his final words before going back to the real world.  
_

"No. It's nothing. Grandmother. You don't have to worry about me. I'm fine." Enma Ai said as she opened the sliding door of her grandmother's room to make her look at the mirror Rikuo gave her.

"Ai, who is that yokai boy? I seem to have forgotten his name." Her grandmother said and made a little laugh.

"He is the Young Master of the Nura clan, the great yokai yakuza family of Eastern Japan, Nurarihyon's grandson, Rikuo Nura." Enma Ai replied.

"Rikuo,huh, Ai?"

"Yes, grandmother."

"That boy seems to be keeping the doll and not yet pulling the string, right?" Enma Ai's grandmother was also confused about the events happening in their territory. In their world. For a long time, there were no clients visiting the jigokutsushin. So it seemed like it was a world record for longest time not sending people to Hell. It was so odd and weird! It looks like peace is recovering... Humph, OF COURSE NOT.

"Mistress, why can't you just leave that yokai boy? He is disturbing our nature! He is disturbing everything in our world!" Hone-onna was exclaiming.

"What if the god of Hell learns about this?" Wanyuudou tried to ask Enma Ai. That's right. What if the god of Hell learns about that silent friendship? What is he going to do with them? What is he going to do to her? What is he going to do with Rikuo?

"You lot don't have to worry." Stated the grandmother.

"What?" the two assistants exclaimed in shock.

"Yes, there is no need to worry." Enma Ai started. "The God of Hell... does not mind our silent friendship." She finished.

"But how?" Hone-onna asked.

"I told him so." The grandmother replied. "The God of Hell may want Enma Ai to never leave her job as the Hell girl, but he does not want her to suffer something more awful than her job. Well, that was just his hint, probably. However, he seems to be interested to see what the output is when the Lord Of Pandemonium and the Hell girl collide. That is the main reason why he sets her free in the Nura clan's estate." The grandmother finished.

"Mistress..." the woman said in worry. She was worried about letting Enma Ai go with that bastard(for her, that is).

"Tch, I wonder what's happening to that IchimokuRen... that yokai boy won't let go of that doll..." Hone-onna complains.

"Hone-onna, let's just leave the Mistress for a while. She needs her own time to think about everything." Wanyuudou broke down the silence in the air.

"The two of you..." Enma Ai said. "You can follow me. Don't let yourselves get caught." She finished. The two assistants had hope again. Hope that their Mistress won't leave them alone. Of course not. She won't leave them alone.

"Ai? I have prepared your kimono. Would you wear them for me?" the grandmother asked.

"Yes." Enma Ai wore a new kimono her grandmother made for her. It was dark pink and frilly. Her sash dark blue, mixing beautifully with the colour pink. The kimono was filled with beautiful cherry petals, that if she were to sit on the sakura tree, she would combine perfectly with it. Oh, she was so beautiful. Her hair was down, and if she were to lay down, oh man, Rikuo would really be seduced unintentionally by her.

"Thank you, Grandmother." Enma Ai said.

"You look beautiful, Mistress!" Hone-onna complimented her outfit.

"That yokai boy would certainly be shocked when he sees you wearing that." Wanyuudou said.

Enma Ai had a light blush on her cheeks again, and they were all shocked.

_IS... SHE... BLUSHING? _The assistants had their mouths wide open in awe.

"Mistress, are you really blushing?" Hone-onna screamed with excitement.

"That's the first time I've seen you do something like that!" Wanyuudou followed.

_SHE IS SO BEAUTIFUL!_

"Ai. Ai. You can go now, Ai. It is past six in the real world. That boy is waiting for you, Ai." Her grandmother suddenly said.

_WHAT! NOW SHE IS ON MISTRESS'S SIDE?_

"I'll be heading out then, grandmother." Enma Ai began to walk out of the small house. Hone-onna and Wanyuudou followed her.

"Mistress, you won't change your clothes back to your school uniform?" Hone-onna asked.

"Well, her grandmother did prepare that kimono for that yokai boy, right?" Wanyuudou replied to Hone-onna's question.

"But then..." she was cut off when they were teleported outside Rikuo's room in the real world within a second.

"I've been waiting for you." Rikuo, in his night from said. "Ai." He smirked at her. He stood up and walked toward the Hell girl.

Oh, that handsome smirk... Whenever he does that, it's like all the girls are going to scream their hearts out.

"I've changed into this." Enma Ai slightly opened her arms to reveal the beauty of her new kimono. "That is the reason why I am late tonight."

_Well, well, it looks like little Miss is full of seduction..._

Hone-onna and Wanyuudou were on the roof top looking at Rikuo and their Mistress talking. They are not able to go to where their Mistress is, but they are able to express themselves in a far way.

"Grr..." Hone-onna was full of rage.

"Hone-onna, the yokai boy didn't even lay a finger on the Mistress yet." Wanyuudou said, somehow trying to calm Hone-onna down.

"I just don't want to see them make love or whatever it is, I won't allow it!"

"You are overprotective of the Mistress, can't you think of another way to benefit her?"

"I just can't let the Mistress go... She saved my lost soul once."

Rikuo took a closer step to Enma Ai, and they both looked at eachother.

_Damn it... Why is she looking at me that way? Now I'm out of words!_

"Rikuo." Enma Ai held his left hand.

"What is it, Ai?"

"Come with me."

Enma Ai teleported the both of them to Bakenekoya, a Japanese-style yokai eatery located in Ukiyoe Town's First District. It is run by the Bakeneko Clan and was established after the Clan were removed from the area. Their house specialty is a catnip cocktail. While the front section is a restaurant, there is gambling in the back.

"Bakenekoya?" Rikuo uttered. He was curious why Enma Ai brought him here.

"This place was..." she began. "The place where you brought Kana Ienaga on her birthday. Isn't that right?" she finished.

_What?_

Rikuo was quite surprised to hear that from her.

"How did you know that?" he asked.

"I told you. I know every people's memory, and I am able to view their past." She replied.

"Chronal Manipulation?"

"That's right."

_How? And... Why does she have to bring me here? I need an answer._

And after taking a short look outside, Enma Ai teleported them back to the Nura main house, inside Rikuo's room.

Just by their arrival, Rikuo immediately pushed Enma Ai and the both of them fell on Rikuo's bed. She was lying down with him on top. He was gripping her shoulders, as if he was so desperate not to let her go. Her right sleeve was loose because of his push before. It was loose that her clavicle (or collar bone) can be seen. Her hair was spread on the bed, and a patch of her hair was left on her clavicle.

"What is wrong with you, Ai?" Rikuo demanded an answer from her.

He thought Enma Ai was confused about his emotions towards her. He thought she thought he was in love with Kana Ienaga; he thought she thought he was into someone else.

It was kind of... **DISTRUST. ENMA AI DOES NOT TRUST RIKUO**.

Even though they have been together for a long while, she did not lay her trust on him. She only realized her mistake when her grandmother made her that kimono. Maybe it was not her fault. Maybe it was not her thought that was at fault. Maybe... Maybe it was the kimono. Maybe her grandmother cast something onto it so Enma Ai would refuse Rikuo, and leave him.

"Answer me, Ai! What's wrong with you?"

Rikuo was so pissed off because of what's happening to Enma Ai's thinking. He knows that she is not innocent this way. She has a problem.

"Tell me your problem now." He went close to her face. So close, that if either of them was going to move a little bit, it would automatically become a kiss.

By the time Rikuo glared at Enma Ai's eyes, she realized what was now wrong. It's definitely her kimono. Her kimono had the scent of kinmokusei, and the said scent was just hypnotizing her to do something wrong, or to think of something wrong.

The problem was **THE KIMONO THAT HAD THE SCENT OF KINMOKUSEI THAT HAVE BROUGHT ENMA AI INTO THE WRONG IDEA. SHE WAS HYPNOTIZED BY THE SMELL.**

"Rikuo." Enma Ai uttered as she went back to her normal self. "It's..." she tried to speak. "It's... my... ki-mo-no..." she tried to feel Rikuo's face with her left hand.

"Ai?" Rikuo questioned. Now, he thinks she's becoming innocent again.

"Rikuo." He pulled her back up, and she immediately hugged him, again, making them land on the floor.

"Hey, are you back to normal now?"

"Ki-mo-no..."

"Your kimono?" he smelled her open sleeve. "Yeah, you're right. The scent is hypnotizing."

"Rikuo, the doll... Won't you give it back to me?"

Rikuo started to caress her hair to make her feel relaxed.

"I told you already. If it means you would disappear, then I wouldn't give it back to you."

"Rikuo... Thank you." Ai whispered. She closed her eyes and rested her head on Rikuo's shoulder.

"You should get some rest, though. You've been hypnotized all this time... Ai." He tried to put her in place and then he carried her. He went outside, where he met his grandfather, Nurarihyon.

"Oh, Rikuo, what are you doing here?" Nurarihyon asked.

"I'm taking her back home." He replied.

"I see."

**IN THE VILLAGE OF ETERNAL TWILIGHT:**

"It seems you found out the kimono I made was used for seduction." Enma Ai's grandmother stated.

Rikuo put Enma Ai on the floor carefully, wherein it triggered her to wake up.

"Rikuo." Was all she can say after sitting down.

"I'm glad you're alright." He pulled her head and kissed her forehead.

"Ai? Are you feeling fine now, Ai?" her grandmother asked. "Yes." She replied.

"Thank you for taking care of her, Rikuo Nura."

"What?"

"That was something the God of Hell wanted even though it would be a disadvantage for Ai."

"Grandmother?"

"The only magic there is your trust. It seems you share a mutual trust, so it must have been enough to break the spell."

"Now I understand." Rikuo uttered.

After the conversation about the ending of the test, Enma Ai and Rikuo walked together holding hands under the pink hazy night, with the new moon in the sky in the real world.

"A disadvantage for you, huh?"

"I did not know that they would have a setup just like that. Just to create broken threads."

"You are tied in a red thread together with me, Ai." Rikuo said with a smirk.

"It would become red threads of destiny, then."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credits: Notable quotes were taken from goodreads.com


	8. THE PEACEFUL LAKESHORE

"Rikuo?"

"Rikuo, are you awake?"

_Who... Who is it?_

"Rikuo, please wake up..."

_Enma... Ai?_

"Rikuo... Wake up for me..."

Rikuo suddenly opened his eyes widely, trying to look for the woman who was trying to wake him up.

"Mother?" Rikuo suddenly questioned. He was sure that last line was Enma Ai's voice. She said 'wake up for me...' Was that just an illusion? Or was he only dreaming?

Rikuo was in his day form, since the time was 9 a.m. and it was a weekend, yet again. For the whole school week, he has only been thinking about the Hell girl. No one else but her can fully fill his mind with interest and mystery. She was the one who turned him on when she wore that seducing kimono, she was the one and she was the one. He could barely listen to Kana's and the Kiyojuji Patrol's leader, Kiyotsugu's babbling because he kept on staring at the space. There was absolutely nothing else on his mind except for that image of her. Enma Ai's and his image that was so beautiful... The way they spend their time together, holding hands, and even sitting on her lap near the pond... Such memories... It fills Rikuo's life with joy and prosperity.. What a WONDERFUL LIFE he is living in right now... His night form was even happier than he is!

Rikuo has been sleeping on the table in his room, where the door was left open for the fresh air to come inside. It was just after he and Enma Ai walked together around town, then he came back home. He was even still wearing his robe.

"Rikuo, your friends are waiting for you outside." His mother, Wakana Nura said with a warm smile on her face.

Well, for all of you to know, Rikuo's mother always smiles happily, whether their situation is bad or good, or even worse to worst, she brings the Nura clan comfort and relief.

"Wait... What? Kana and the others are waiting for me?" he asked.

"Yes, that's right." His mother replied. "Do you want to go with them? Or would you like to stay here at home? I can just tell them that you are sick or suffering from E-coli because of your travels last night." She suggested.

"No! There's no need for that, mom!" Rikuo began running outside, getting changed. He hurried like a whirlwind outside to meet all of them, then the group went to another yokai-available location, as what Kiyojuji commanded, as always.

They went to a site known as Akatsuki; it was a ruined building that was destroyed due to the strong earthquake in the Shida Prefecture. Akatsuki was also known as the great yokai of the red moon colony 200 years ago, and the name was preserved to be used in a company that exterminates yokai. Because of the curses made by yokai, they crushed the building down by creating a massive quake, which resulted to its end. The company did not even live up to 100 years yet. And after a half an hour ride in the train, the group arrived, and everyone was fascinated by the view of the discarded building.

"Wow! It's so huge!" they all screamed in amazement.

Rikuo looked around, searching for danger. In his other side of his personality, he was searching for something else.

It is already so obvious, isn't it? Yes, that's right. He was searching for...

_Ai..._

"Ai..." Rikuo uttered. He was so surprised when he uttered that name. He did it involuntarily; it was not on purpose that he would say her name. Maybe it was his night form that had forced him to say her name. Yeah, it definitely was. He sighed in boredom. He knew it was a little boring around the group. They are exploring yokai, though Rikuo already knew the yokai world. What a junk.

Rikuo, while looking around, glanced on a tree, not so far away from the building, and he was surprised to see that tree. The tree was very beautiful, yes. It had red flowers - flowers people call Camellia. The tree was a Red Camellia tree.

Oh, man, it was so beautiful. The flowers even hypnotized Rikuo of its beauty. He stared at the tree; he took a glance at its trunk, and was shocked to see what was there.

"What?" Rikuo uttered.

Beside the tree trunk, he saw a schoolgirl standing right over there, also looking at him. She mixed with the tree perfectly. She had white skin, she had black hair, and more oddly, she had red eyes.

_Red... eyes?_

_Red?_

_Could it be?_

_Is it possible?_

"Ai?" Rikuo questioned. He walked to the tree to take a closer look at the girl.

"Ai?" he asked.

"What are you doing here?" she replied.

"My friends are here on a trip..."

"A trip about what?"

"Yokai."

"And you are assuming that they are in danger?" Rikuo stopped in his tracks of speaking. Why? Is he overprotecting his friends? Is that a mistake? Is that doing wrong? Rikuo went serious. He thought that she had no emotions, but then her questions are not that easy to answer.

"Come with me." Enma Ai offered her right hand to him. He took it, without hesitation.

Ai and Rikuo walked together to the lakeshore, a little far from where the Akatsuki was located.

"Wow.." Rikuo was amazed by the view of the lakeshore.

Oh my glob, it was so peaceful! The morning rays were making the water shine so bright, you could even see glitters on it!

"What is this place?" he asked.

"Grandmother..." Enma Ai began. "She told me to bring you here." She finished.

"For what reason?"

"I need to know what you are doing with the straw doll."

And again, Rikuo stopped. They are going to talk about that doll again, huh?

_This doll is beginning to piss me off..._

"About that thing again?" Rikuo asked.

Enma Ai just nodded. "What have you been doing with it?" she asked.

"I'm just keeping it."

"You are not going to pull the string?"

"It's impossible for you to bring yourself to Hell, right?"

"No."

Rikuo was shocked. "Eh? That... possible?" he questioned.

"Yes, it is. There are no 'impossibilities' in my world. Anything I want can be done. Even the death of this world." Enma Ai said.

Rikuo was overwhelmed. He felt a strange feeling on his soul, on his body. There it was again. The Fear that he had felt before. The Hell girl is really overwhelming with power. She is so powerful... She could actually create a world's death? That is so... POWERFUL.

"I see." Was the only thing Rikuo could reply. He was scared, he clenched his free hand.  
"Don't worry too much about this straw doll." Rikuo said as he tried to smile. "I have it, I'm going to keep it, and I'm not going to pull the string. I don't want to lose you, either, Ai. And I don't want to lose my friends and family. Nor do I want all the people to share the same fate to doom." He declared.

"Still, I can change everything you plan, even if other people pull that string." Enma Ai replied.

"Then I would just have to keep it where no one can ever find it."

"There is no place like that."

"You might think that way, but I don't. Don't be so pessimistic, Ai." Rikuo brought out a little laugh. The reason why Enma Ai has not been working is because one of her dolls' strings has not yet been pulled. And it is a policy that the string should be pulled so she can get back to work again. But then, it was an order from the God of Hell. She is NOT allowed to work unless that string gets pulled.

"I'll be going back home." Enma Ai let go of Rikuo's hand and disappeared in a blink of an eye.

Rikuo got upset because of the end of their conversation.

Not too long later, at about 4 p.m., the group went back to their homes. Kana even nagged about not being able to see the yokai who saved her on her birthday. Ugh, she was so irritated. She hoped she would be in danger so that yokai would appear and save her; and later on bring her to some place where they can have privacy. Geez, her imagination is so wild but so low. Rikuo did not listen to anything. He just thought about the conversation he and the Hell girl had in the peaceful lakeshore.

* * *

**MOON AND CHERRY BLOSSOMS**

**NURA MAIN HOUSE AT 8 P.M.:**

After a day of discovering and searching for yokai, Rikuo fell onto the floor of his room exhausted. He walked very long distances, 6 to 10 kilometres to be precise; his group even made him and Kana go on a karaoke to sing and relax for a while. But that was not what he wanted.

_Damn... They've been forcing me to do the wrong things... Those guys..._

"Rikuo?" his mother called to him. She saw him immediately since his door was open again.

"What is it now, Mom?" Rikuo asked, a little bit irritated; but he can't answer his mom, can he? So instead of showing the way he is upset, he put a smile up on his face.

"Are you going to eat dinner, Rikuo?" she asked.

"No thanks. I've ate enough for this day." He replied, sinking his head onto a pillow.

"Okay, that's fine then." She replied, and then went out. She also closed the door since she saw Rikuo sleeping from exhaustion.

_What a busy day..._

Suddenly, Rikuo heard the sounds of those bells again. That which he heard when the Hell girl arrive for the first time. His eyes flew open. He pushed himself up on his elbows and raised his head from the pillow, looking at the door of his room.

"You scared me." Rikuo's voice changed into a deeper, hotter tone. He transformed into his night form the moment he spoke those words.

"It was not my fault." Enma Ai replied. "Your door was open, and it can let someone you don't know come in."

"It wasn't my fault." Rikuo talked back. "I've been wanting to see you, Ai." He smirked.

"I only came here to take a look at the straw doll I gave you." Enma Ai said.

It's been 4 weeks ever since their first meeting. He still hasn't given the doll back yet, so the Hell girl is quite worried.

"Do you think you can change?" Rikuo asked her, gesturing on the floor. "Do you realize you're wearing the same uniform over and over again?" he teased her.

"My life does not matter. It's the client that does." She replied.

Rikuo already saw her in her black kimono twice, her seductive kimono once, and her uniform many times. When is she ever going to change for something more beautiful? Only to make Rikuo drool.

"Humph. You really make a man drool." He said, boasting.

"That doesn't bother me." She replied.

"I'll change you into something, Mistress." A guy's voice suddenly surprised Rikuo and Ai.

"I have been waiting for you, IchimokuRen." Enma Ai looked at the guy who walked beside her. He was also hot, but not as hot as Rikuo. He was an attractive young man in a green cardigan and a black shirt. His hair covers the left side of his face and that part of his face is unseen.

"What?" Rikuo questioned the man.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I am your doll, Lord Of Pandemonium, Rikuo Nura." IchimokuRen replied. He smiled at him, as if he was superior to Rikuo since he was a lot closer to the Hell girl than he is. The room was suddenly filled with jealousy and anger.  
Graah, Rikuo is somehow extremely irritated with this guy. And furthermore, he will be the one to CHANGE Enma AI?

_This guy is really annoying me... He's gonna change Ai? What the does that mean?_

"IchimokuRen." Enma Ai uttered. IchimokuRen passed by in between Ai and Rikuo. In doing so, a huge eye appeared on the ground Rikuo was sitting, which made him stand up.

"What the hell is this?" He said angrily. And after IchimokuRen passed by them, in about 3 whole seconds, but in Rikuo's time, it took 3 minutes, Enma Ai was changed in an outfit where Rikuo, upon seeing her, was shocked and inside, he drooled.

"What is this?" Rikuo asked. He thought IchimokuRen would answer, but it turned out he already transformed back into being a doll of his.

"This is something that somehow irritates me." Enma Ai showed a little bit of her emotions.

Why wouldn't she be embarrassed? She was wearing a short bright red kimono; something that was up above her knee, with a big black ribbon and white frills; at the end of her skirt were white frills also; her kimono had a low neckline, wherefore her cleavage can be seen; she was wearing golden beads-necklaces; a gold crown where tiny sticks holding bells and was spreading out; and black knee socks with white frills on top.

That made Ai look sexy, and Rikuo felt like he was being seduced. Enma Ai's hair was down, mixing with the drawing of her crown.

_Oh, man, she is so beautiful. No man is going to resist her like this._

They are all gonna rape her. She had a demonic aura, or a demonic background, and her red eyes, her red clothes, and her black socks were perfectly matching it.

"Don't get the wrong idea about this." Enma Ai stated. She realized what Rikuo was seeing, and so she faced back, and closed the door so no one else could see her. So no one else could see them together.

"No," Rikuo said quickly, grabbing her shoulders to make her face him. "Leave it."

Enma Ai was covering her chest with her arms, and she did not let go of it. She looked at Rikuo's eyes as soon as he grabbed her.

"Could you maybe have called?" Enma Ai asked.

"I could have. I'm sorry I didn't. But I needed to do a couple of things on my own." Rikuo gave her body a sultry smile.

"Mmm-mm..." Rikuo smirked. "I'll say one thing for you, Ai.-you sure do make a man want." Rikuo looked at her as if he wanted to devour her, and while the effect was terribly sexy, she blushed.

"And what are you implying?" Enma Ai asked.

"Come with me for a night," he replied. "I'm gonna let you do something." Enma Ai unthinkingly dropped both of her hands on Rikuo's arms, whose hands are still holding her bold shoulders. "I hate to tell you to change again," Rikuo said, taking her in. "I like what I'm seeing. I like it a lot," he added.

Enma Ai had to do something, since she wasn't sure of what was going to happen next. She lifted up on her toes, and kissed the corner of Rikuo's mouth.

"You have no idea how much I want to pull the string of your doll." She said.

One corner of Rikuo's mouth tipped up; he put his hand on her waist. She could see the desire in his eyes. Rikuo groaned softly.

"If you're gonna do that, first, I'm gonna chew that top off you," he said, and bent his head, touching his lips to the small patch of skin on her temple. The sensation shimmered through Ai. She gripped the cloth that was on Rikuo's arms.

"I'm going to kill you for that." She said.

"Try it." Rikuo challenged.


	9. Moon and Cherry Blossoms

Enma Ai was wearing a short bright red kimono, something that was up above her knee, with a big black ribbon with white frills; at the end of her skirt were white frills also; her kimono had a low neckline, wherefore her cleavage can be seen; she was wearing golden beads-necklaces; a gold crown that had tiny sticks that held bells and was spreading out; and black knee socks with white frills on top.

That made Ai look sexy, and Rikuo felt like he was being seduced. Enma Ai's hair was down, mixing with the drawing of her crown.

_Oh, man, she is so beautiful. No man is going to resist her like this._

They are all gonna rape her. She had a demonic aura, or a demonic background, and her red eyes, her red clothes, and her black socks were perfectly matching it.

"Don't get the wrong idea about this." Enma Ai stated. She realized what Rikuo was seeing, and so she faced back, and closed the door so no one else could see her. So no one else could see them together.

"No," Rikuo said quickly, grabbing her shoulders to make her face him. "Leave it."

Enma Ai was covering her chest with her arms, and she did not let go of it. She looked at Rikuo's eyes as soon as he grabbed her.

"Could you maybe have called?" Enma Ai asked.

"I could have. I'm sorry I didn't. But I needed to do a couple of things on my own." Rikuo gave her body a sultry smile.

"Mmm-mm..." Rikuo smirked. "I'll say one thing for you, Ai.-you sure do make a man want."

"And what are you implying?" Enma Ai asked.

"Come with me for a night," he replied. "I'm gonna let you do something."

Enma Ai unthinkingly dropped both of her hands on Rikuo's arms, whose hands are still holding her bold shoulder.

"I hate to tell you to change again," Rikuo said, taking her in. "I like what I'm seeing. I like it a lot," he added.

"You have no idea how I want to pull the string of your doll." She complained.

Rikuo groaned softly. "If you're gonna do that, first, I'm gonna chew that top off you," he said, and bent his head, touching his lips to the small patch of skin on her temple. The sensation shimmered through Ai. She gripped the cloth that was on Rikuo's arms.

"I'm going to kill you for that." She said.

"Try it." Rikuo challenged.

* * *

**Flower and Moon**   
  


Rikuo trapped Ai on the door, her bare legs compressed by Rikuo's. She cannot stare at Rikuo for any longer, for Rikuo is taller than her and they are squeezed together.

"It's getting hard to breathe." Enma Ai said, gripping the cloth on Rikuo's arms. She stared at Rikuo's chest, since her height is only until his chin. She hid her face; she was embarrassed, only a little bit. Ha-ha, at least she was showing a little bit of her emotions.

"Just let me go, Rikuo. I don't have time to do this with you." Enma Ai tried to say. She has had enough.

She can't really go through all of this, right? I mean... It's not like she has someone else or anything, right?

_Man... She's so sexy... She looks so seductive..._

Enma Ai tried to push Rikuo slowly, but Rikuo didn't move. Yeah, that's right. By now, Enma Ai is weakened because of the awkward situation they are in. Are they going to do something? Something so BAD that she will never be able to forget every detail that had happened through that event?

She didn't realize a moment then that Rikuo was moving her slowly backward to the other direction, where she bumped on the wall.

"W-what?-"Enma Ai uttered in shock.

She didn't know they actually moved! She was so busy staring at Rikuo's chest she had forgotten the movement they did a while ago.

Rikuo stopped moving then and cupped her head in his hands. "You can count on me, Ai." He said. "We've had some stuff happen, but we can fill a few holes and patch a few cracks and get back to where we were. You know that, don't you?"

"I already closed my heart, so nothing could ever come in, Rikuo. I am not able to do anything else but send people to Hell." Enma Ai stated. It was the only truth she was entirely certain of.

Rikuo kissed her possessively, sending a thrill through her.

"Rikuo..."

"Not this time, Ai. I'm going to do what I should have done the moment you appeared here and show you just how much you mean to me."

Ai's blood raced, making her so weak with longing that she was powerless to do anything to stop him. She couldn't disappear, she couldn't teleport, and she couldn't do anything. She can only observe what's going to happen next.

"Look at me," Rikuo quietly commanded her. "I don't have much that means anything to me anymore. Only you and you mean the world to me. I know it's so sudden, but the truth is, you became mine when we met and you're still mine, and I am going to prove it to you." He smirked.

No... No... That's impossible! Rikuo still has his friends, his family, his other side, himself! No!

Enma Ai leaned back and braced her hands on Rikuo's sleeves.

"I've dreamed of touching your skin," Rikuo said, his knuckles skimming her chest.  
"Of tasting you." He put his mouth to her neck.  
"Of making love to you," he murmured against her skin.

Enma Ai bent her head to one side to give him access.

Honestly, she was an amateur when it came to stuff like this. The moment she realized she was actually closing her eyes when Rikuo was kissing her neck, she let out a little yelp. "Rikuo?" she'd say, and open her eyes and look at him.

"I can hear your heart beat." Rikuo said. "And it's beating normally."

The both of them were shocked.

WHAT? Enma Ai's heart wasn't beating fast? What a useless moment to cherish. Although it was going to seem like forever, Enma Ai whispered to Rikuo. "I've been living for a long time, right? Doesn't that mean it's impossible to make my heart beat fast?" she went up on her toes to kiss him.

Rikuo melted into that kiss and into the Hell girl. The taste of her mouth, the feel of her lips on his, her body soft and slender against his, it was all so sexy. He held her tight and kissed her – deep and long, the first kiss. The sensation flared through his body, lighting him up like a firebomb. He suddenly twirled Enma Ai around and up against the corner of his room. He pressed his mouth against her neck again and caught her scent, the scent of kinmokusei.

"Rikuo, just-" Enma Ai couldn't say anything. Her voice was shaking as he tried to slide one of her sleeves down. "No... You just-" she was cut off when Rikuo kissed her clavicle. Ouch. That seemed to her Ai. She has been cut off by Rikuo several times.

"Don't waste my time." Enma Ai stated.

"Are you lost? Or are you found?" Rikuo asked her.

"What does that-?" she's been cut off again when Rikuo pushed her, making her fall on his bed. Her crown fell off, her legs trapped in between Rikuo's; her arms on the sides spread out with her hair.

No. She does not know what Rikuo meant by lost and found. She was quite confused.

"Just trust me, will you?" Rikuo requested the wondering girl under him.

"About what?" she asked.

"Leave everything to me." He sank his head down beside her shoulder, and sniffed it, heading to her cleavage. Enma Ai could not understand what was happening.

"What do you want to do with me?"

"Let's play for a while." Rikuo smirked.

Does he have any naughty intentions? What did he mean by play? Is it to make love? To play with her as if she was his toy? To conquer her as if she was his property? What could it be?

"Tell me what you are planning to do. Or else." Enma Ai said, now being serious.

"Or else what?" Rikuo moved a leg of his between Ai's legs, pushing her short kimono up her thigh, making her explode in irritation and anger.

Enma Ai shook her head in resistance to Rikuo's advances. She was now furious about Rikuo's attitude tonight. He's become much of a bother.

"As the Hell girl, you're really powerful, and that's what makes me go crazy about you. Even by just looking at your eyes, you look like you've been through a lot of Hell, Ai."

_Eh? What... was that...? I'm curious. Why does he have to say those things to my face? Why is he talking to me like I'm his... I'm his property or something... No, this is not it. I won't allow him to get to my heart. I have sacrificed everything, and I'm not going to let it go. Definitely._

Ai looked at Rikuo. She knew it. He was serious about this. He isn't just making a joke out of it. And if he was, he would be stupid.

"Rikuo..." Enma Ai glanced at the door.

The both of them sensed something. And I'm sure... It's THEM.

_Oh, give me a break, old man._

Everyone was eavesdropping from outside of Rikuo's room.

"Those guys..." Rikuo uttered and lowered his head in dismay.

He wasted the time he almost enjoyed, the part where he would feel the happiest. He was about to share his body and soul with the Hell girl, but it was cut off when the both of them knew the Supreme Commander and sneaker was there, eavesdropping.

_Damn, pisses me off..._

Rikuo sat up, so did Ai. She laid herself on Rikuo's arms so he could hug her tightly.

"The doll... Rikuo..." she closed her eyes.

"I won't give it back." He replied.

Enma Ai has been waiting for that doll. But it seems that that has to wait. Yeah, it has to wait. I wonder for how long?

And remember, as long as Rikuo has the doll, the Hell girl needs to visit him and take a look at the doll for safety measures.

"I'm tired." Enma Ai said, resting. She has been tired. IchimokuRen changed her into clothes that fit her so well it was SEDUCTION; Rikuo tried to lay a finger on her, he tried to touch her; and she even fell down. Wow... It's so tiring.

"You're right. And my hands are full because of THESE GUYS OUTSIDE." Rikuo put Enma Ai in place and carried her.

He went out his room, without anyone noticing his presence, except for his grandfather.

"Rikuo.. You-?!" Nurarihyon uttered.

Rikuo brought Enma Ai back to the village of eternal twilight, where her 2 assistants and grandmother were waiting.

"MISTRESS! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?" Hone-onna exclaimed.

"What have you done to the Mistress?" Wanyuudou asked.

Rikuo put Enma Ai on the floor carefully, and then he kissed her forehead.

"WHA-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" the 2 assistants screamed.

"I am the Lord Of Pandemonium, remember that. And I am the one who rules all yokai, with the Hell girl by my side." Rikuo said as he left.

"What?!" both of them were shocked.

Enma Ai's grandmother magically put a pink blanket on her. She heard everything Rikuo said, but she didn't say anything. She doesn't have emotions, remember?

Rikuo Nura, Enma Ai; Lord of Pandemonium, Hell girl.

The most powerful creatures in the yokai world and the underworld.


	10. A WHIRLWIND OF FLOWER PETALS DESCENDS (World Offers No Escape)

It was a weekend morning when Rikuo and the Kiyojuji Patrol went out to have another yokai exploration. They went to Ukiyoe town's first district, where Kiyotsugu searched and found out that the Supreme Commander of all yokai once went there, and is still going on until today. He prayed that he would have a chance of seeing the Supreme Commander of all yokai there, even if it was morning.

"Man... Why do they have to be so stubborn?" Rikuo sighed loudly and was slightly irritated by these explorations.

_"Still..."_ Rikuo thought. _"I still have to protect my friends... This is a yokai district after all... Drunken yokai or any other kind of evil yokai might go after them... Or maybe later on might just KILL them! I have to be careful... Aotabo... Kurotabo... and Kubinashi are here with us today... So I hope everything will be all right."_

He kept on looking around and tried to see if there are any signs of 'those' creatures. Aotabo, Kurotabo and Kubinashi were all hiding behind the walls near the group; so when anything happens, or any accidents or troubles might happen, they are ready to bring up the heat.

"Nura, are you all right?" Yura Keikain, an onmyouji who's also a part of the Kiyojuji Patrol and a friend of Rikuo (both human and yokai forms) asked him in front.

"Huh?" Rikuo was startled. His eyes looked away; he was pressured by the closeness of his friend, but later on relaxed. "I'm fine, Yura. Don't worry about me." He smiled at her. Yura suspected something.

"Nura... And I'm talking to the other side of you... Are you looking for danger? Is there anything happening around here that we don't know?" she whispered.

"What? No! No! There is absolutely NOTHING around here! I promise..." He tried to reply. He wants her off his face right now!

"Hmmm..." Yura began to walk away. "Okay, I see." She stopped at Kana's side.

Rikuo sighed of relief.

_Finally... She's out of here..._

Rikuo looked around again, and on one corner of a dark wall, he saw a girl. A girl in school uniform. A girl with red eyes,long straight black hair.

_Ai?_

Rikuo suspected it was her... The Hell girl, Enma Ai. So he went closer to her to see if it was really her.

"Ai? What are you doing here again?" Rikuo asked her, cornering her to the wall.

"Don't you dare go near her." A woman pushed Rikuo away and blocked his view of Enma Ai. It was Hone-onna. "We are just here observing all of you. Don't come near her like she's your anything!"

"That's enough, Hone-onna." Wanyuudou appeared beside Rikuo. Hone-onna stepped aside and gave way for her Mistress to approach Rikuo.

"I'm just here to observe you, that's all." Enma Ai stated.

"Well, that's fine with me." Rikuo said and smiled. "We're doing yokai exploration again, so it's kind of boring for me now that I know a lot about yokais since I'm the Supreme Commander of them."

"Humph! So what if you are the Supreme Commander? You cannot be compared to the Hell girl!" Hone-onna boasted.

"That's enough, Hone-onna." Enma Ai said. She doesn't want to make up a fight again.

Hone-onna... always protesting about the friendship Rikuo and Ai are making. She's really not into this kind of situation.

While they were conversing in the dark, Yura took a glimpse and wondered who Rikuo was talking to, so she approached him. Upon doing so, she saw Rikuo with Enma Ai, and wondered who the girl was. Wanyuudou and Hone-onna already disappeared before she was able to locate them or sense them.

"Nura?" Yura asked.

"Aaah, Yura..." Rikuo was quite nervous of what the situation might turn out.

"Who is this girl you are talking to? Is she a yokai?" Yura questioned, and started to prepare her shikigami if ever her suspicion would become true.

"Umm... This girl is..." Rikuo was pressured. He did not know what to say. He can't just tell the onmyouji that the girl he is talking to is the Hell girl, nor can he say that she is his lover or girlfriend.

_This is bad... What should I do?_

Enma Ai stepped in front of Rikuo put a hand on his shoulder and her other hand flipping her hair.

"I am Nura Ai." She began. "I am a cousin of Rikuo who came by to shop around." She finished.

_EEEEEEHHH? COUSIN?_

"Oh, I see... So you're Nura's cousin, eh?" Yura was suddenly amused. "You sure are a beauty, Ai." She said.

"What?" Rikuo's mouth was wide open after the introduction Enma Ai just had.

_COUSIN? WHAT THE JUNK? NURA, AI? RIKUO'S COUSIN?_

"Well, all I can say is you somehow look like him... His yokai form, I mean." Yura stated. "You both have red eyes and that aura of demonic action."

"What?" Rikuo was shocked again. He cannot seriously believe that he and Ai would have similarities, even if it is just a small one.

That's IMPOSSIBLE!

"Well, anyway, I'm Yura Keikain, Rikuo's friend. I'm an onmyouji." Yura said, with her voice full of kindness.

"Onmyouji." Was all Enma Ai said. Okay, that's that.

**5 P.M.:**

Rikuo and Ai went back to the Nura main house, holding hands as they walked.

All the servants made 2 lines along sidewalk and greeted the both of them. "Master and Mistress, WELCOME BACK HOME!" they all greeted.

"I'm back." Enma Ai said. She was getting used to these kinds of greetings since she and Rikuo would see each other like... Every NIGHT.

Some of the small servants approached the both of them and began asking questions. "Where did the 2 of you go after Master was done with his group hang-out?" some said.  
"What happened to the both of you?" some asked. They were asking questions.

**LATER THAT NIGHT: OUTISDE RIKUO'S ROOM:**

"Why in the world did you tell Yura we were cousins?" Rikuo, transformed in his night form asked. Him and Ai are sitting beside each other.

"That was the only dumb excuse I could think of. You can't tell the onmyouji I am the Hell girl, right? You might get scared." Enma Ai answered back.

Rikuo sighed. There was no answer he can think of. Wow. Enma Ai sure knows how to shut a person up.

Cherry petals started to fall, and it flowed with the wind.

"Keep that name, Nura, Ai." Rikuo whispered to Enma Ai. And then he kissed her cheek. Enma Ai closed her eyes and felt the wind blowing through her hair.

"I won't." She replied.


	11. For you, the language of angels

Rikuo put Enma Ai on the floor carefully, and then he kissed her forehead.

"WHA-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" the 2 assistants screamed.

"I am the Lord Of Pandemonium, remember that. And I am the one who rules all yokai, with the Hell girl by my side." Rikuo said as he left.

"What?" both of them were shocked.

Rikuo Nura, Enma Ai; Lord of Pandemonium, Hell girl.

The most powerful creatures in the yokai world and the underworld.

* * *

**FOR YOU (The Emotion She Lacks)**

**NURA MAIN HOUSE, WEEKEND, 9 P.M.:**

Rikuo was walking around the house, still in his human form. He hasn't yet transformed; he didn't yet transform; and he didn't want to transform just yet. He was waiting for Ai who told him to wait for her in his house because she still needed to do many "businesses" with something or someone.

_What could it be? What is she working? Who is she working with? More importantly... what time is she going to come here? I've been waiting for her since 4:30 in the afternoon... What the hell? Where the bloody hell could she be? If she doesn't come to me before 10, I'm going to search and look for her until I reach the ends of the earth!_

Rikuo was very impatient; he wanted Ai to go to him ASAP. But it seems she's taking TOO long...

"Grr..." he growled. "Graah! What the hell is taking her so long just to come here!" Rikuo bursted out.

All the servants passing by looked at him and stared at him. They were all very curious why their Master suddenly shouted with full anger. Hmm...

_What if she actually won't come here? What if she was just tricking me? Is there something wrong with her? Or is there something wrong with me?_

"Geez, Rikuo... Why did you suddenly shout out of the blue?" Nurarihyon, walking towards Rikuo, asked.

Rikuo ran to his grandfather and grabbed his robe (like grabbing his collar or whatever). "Did you do something to make her NOT come to me?" Rikuo began questioning his grandfather.

Well, of course he would suspect him, Nurarihyon has so many tricks up his sleeve, and it is just surprising to see how his unseen tricks can be done so perfectly!

"Wha-whaat?" Nurarihyon asked. "What are you talking about, Rikuo?"

"You can't hide anything from me, old man! Now tell me what you did to her!" Rikuo demanded, gripping his grandfather's robe even tighter.

Man... He is REALLY OUT OF CONTROL!

_I want her to come! That's the only reason I am like this! Without her... I'm..._

"Rikuo?" a girl's voice suddenly talks out of the blue.

Everyone's attention turned to the girl who was standing behind the main gate. It was a dark night, the new moon was shining brightly and the stars were twinkling; the girl's hair was so beautiful, it was black; and her eyes were so red, it was beautiful under the moon.

"Hell girl?" everyone said. They were quite shocked to see her appear before them. "What? She actually came?"

"Of course, she would." Rikuo's voice suddenly changed, with him transforming into his night form. He walked towards the Hell girl as his Fear transformed him. "What took you so long? Tell me, Ai." He said.

Everyone was fascinated by the sudden change of the situation.

Ooooh... This must be a LOVE SCENE! Everyone screamed and giggled in their minds. Everyone also had slight blushes on their faces.

Man! What are they going to do? Their hearts were beating faster than Rikuo's and Ai's.

OH MY GLOB, WHAT TO DO NOW!

_As long as you're beside me, everything... And I mean everything... Will be brilliant because of you._

"I told you the reason, didn't I?" Enma Ai said.

"I waited for you from 4:30 up until this night. That's unfair for me, Ai." Rikuo went close to her face. Their noses touching, one single move, and it's gonna be out of the game.

"You still have your friends, right? You should have gone with them while waiting for me. Isn't that a right thing to do?" Enma Ai asked.

"Humph." Rikuo smirked. "I would rather walk with you in the dark, than alone in the light." He said.

WOOWW! Everyone heard that! Everyone heard that! They are so amazed by Rikuo's pick up lines!

"My hands tend to be full enough dealing with people who hate me for who I am. Concentrate too hard on the millions of people who hate you for what you are and you're likely to turn into one of those unkempt, sloppy dressers who sag beneath the weight of the two hundred political buttons they wear pinned to their coats and knapsacks." Enma Ai replied.

OOOHH... Rikuo, you're so BUSTED!

"What do you think is the best game the both of us can play?" Nurarihyon asked Enma Ai and Rikuo.

"What?" the two questioned.

"What do you mean 'the both of us'? Aren't there three of us?" Rikuo asked.

"I'll count the both of you as ONE." Nurarihyon replied.

WHAAAT? AS ONE?

"I don't know." Enma Ai started. She began walking inside the house. "That is my answer to your first question... "She stopped in the foyer and then looked back at Nurarihyon with a brilliant face that could make you lose. "... Nurarihyon." She finished.

Enma Ai went inside, where Wakana guided her to a certain room.

Rikuo was left outside the gate. He got curious of what just happened.

_What was that all about?_

"Rikuo..." Nurarihyon called for him.

"What is it old man?" he asked.

"I've got a sheet of questions I want you to answer."

"What is it?"

"Have you ever been in love?" Nurarihyon smiled. Rikuo was surprised to hear that question.

_In love? What are you talking about? Of course not!_

"Why?" Rikuo asked.

"Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up." Nurarihyon finished.

Rikuo realized the trivia. He likes the Hell girl, but he doesn't LOVE her. It's NOT LOVE, right? It's a mere 'WANT' for a CERTAIN SOMEBODY.

_Now I understand what you're trying to say old man..._

Rikuo went to the kitchen where he found his mother cooking meals. He asked her where she brought Ai. He asked her for the room she was in.

"Ai? She is in the meeting room with your grandfather and the sub-clans' leaders. Your grandfather was the one who brought her there after I just guided her to your room, Rikuo."

"WHAT!"

Rikuo immediately ran to the meeting room; and he stopped in his tracks when he heard Ai's conversation with the whole Nura clan.

"Hell girl, Enma Ai, you are a very interesting girl." Gyuki said.

"Do you have some kind of relationship with the Third Heir?" Zen asked.

"Is the cycle of hatred all you can do?" one asked.

"Do you want to destroy this world that is full of hatred?" another asked.

"Keep your mouths shut, everyone." Nurarihyon said. "This is no time to be discussing those kinds of things to Ai. This is a once in a lifetime chance to speak to her, and she can answer us."

"Something that there is isn't worth existing for." Enma Ai started. "The truth Rikuo said wasn't exactly the truth which is exactly the truth... You will think me cruel, very selfish, but love is always selfish; the more ardent the more selfish. How jealous I am you cannot know. You must come with me, loving me, to death; or else hate me and still come with me, and hating me through death and after. There is no such word as indifference in my apathetic nature. Emotions, in my experience, aren't covered by single words. I don't believe in "sadness," "joy," or "regret." For me, Love humiliates you, but Hatred cradles you." She finished.

Everyone was amazed by the Hell girl's explicit explanation.

_There is... Honestly... An emotion she lacks... All she knows is... Hatred and Despair. What of it, though?_

"You have a 'need to die', isn't that right, Enma Ai?" Nurarihyon asked.

"Maybe, that depends on you and on you entirely. That's none of my business. I am only here to observe what is happening to the doll Rikuo is holding. That is all." Enma Ai replied. She stood up and walked to the door. When she opened it, Rikuo suddenly grabbed her and pulled her so close to him that they hugged.

"Rikuo!" Nurarihyon screamed.

"Third Heir!" Everyone else followed.

"Now it's all made painfully clear to me." Rikuo said. "When you are a human being, there is joy. There is laughter. And most of all, there is trust. Trust in your fellows. When you are a yokai... then comes suspicion, hatred, and fear. If humans ran the world, it would be a place of eternal bliss and cheer. Yokai run the world; and there is war, and enmity, and destruction unending. We are the death of hope, Ai." He finished.

"Rikuo... " Enma Ai muttered as she looked at Rikuo.

"I'm better of kissing the girl I like." Rikuo said.

Nurarihyon and the others, including all of the servants shouted and giggled and blushed so much! What an insane DECLARATION!

"Humph. I'm impressed, Rikuo." Nurarihyon said.

"Rikuo..." Wakana was proud to see Rikuo go mature.

**LATER ON, IN THE NEARBY SAKURA TREE OUTISDE OF RIKUO'S ROOM:**

Rikuo and Ai, seen by everyone hiding behind the bushes, were kissing under the honey moon shine. Rikuo was holding both of Enma Ai's shoulders, making her sleeves go down, and her clavicles visible. Enma Ai's arms were just on the sides, doing nothing.

THIS IS ALL NORMAL FOR THE BOTH OF THEM.

"Is this courting?" Nurarihyon uttered. It somehow has the same connections with him and his wife, Princess Yo, before they got married.

**AFTER THE KISS:**

Rikuo and Ai strolled around town. They sightsaw beautiful lights in town, shops and restaurants, parks, entertainment lanes, and everything was so pretty and sparkling.

"I think if I've learned anything about friendship." Enma Ai began.

"Oh yeah?" Rikuo smirked.

"It's to hang in, stay connected, fight for them, and let them fight for you. Don't walk away, don't be distracted, don't be too busy or tired, don't take them for granted. Friends are part of the glue that holds life and faith together. Powerful stuff." Enma Ai finished.

Rikuo stole Ai's lips after her explanation.

"Humph. And I'll say, you've learned a lot, Ai. Not bad." Rikuo said. "Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."

"Don't mock me." Enma Ai stated. "He must have known I'd want to leave you."

"No, he must have known you would always want to come back." Rikuo replied.

"That isn't a possibility." Enma Ai continued to walk.

* * *

**THE MIRACULOUS LANGUAGE OF ANGELS**

Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are. The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever. Colours seem brighter and more brilliant. In their presence, there's no need for continuous conversation, but you find you're quite content in just having them nearby. Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do.

Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon.

You open your heart knowing that there's a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that's so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life.

"Rikuo?" Enma Ai asked when the both of them stopped near a pond that reflects the new moon.

"I am nothing special, of this I am sure. I am a common man with common thoughts and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten, but I've loved another with all my heart and soul and to me, this has always been enough..." Rikuo declared.

"That's true." Was all Enma Ai could say.

They enjoyed the beautiful view of the moon together, leaning on each other, with their hands clasped together. They never did let go of each other.

Meanwhile, they didn't notice that some people were watching them from the behind the bushes. Yeah, it's none other than the Nura clan.

"_I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or pride: I love you in this way because I do not know any other way of loving but this, in which there is no I or you, so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that when I fall asleep your eyes close."_Princess Yo told Nurarihyon.

"Rikuo... Ai might be your princess, huh?" Nurarihyon said to himself and smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> credits to the notable quotes found in goodreads.com


	12. The Uncertain Pair

**THE DATE OF DESTINY (The Uncertain Pair)**

_"There are winds of destiny that blow when we least expect them. Sometimes they gust with the fury of a hurricane, sometimes they barely fan one's cheek. But the winds cannot be denied, bringing as they often do a future that is impossible to ignore."_

**AT NIGHT, AROUND TOWN:**

Rikuo in his night form, and Enma Ai were both strolling around. They have been walking for quite a long time... Maybe 3 to 5 hours by estimation.

_What should I do with her? She's just following me... She doesn't have a decent decision of what she can do. This is all she is doing. She is only FOLLOWING me. It's like she is going to follow me even to the abyss of Hell... She's been there already, anyways... Ai..._

"Is there something wrong with you?"

"Wha-what?" Rikuo realized the both of them had stopped walking a few minutes ago. He has been thinking about her attitude, the way she follows someone so desperately, she does not make any complaints. Even if she were to be raped, she would only follow.

There is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING she can do. NOTHING... NOTHING!

"Rikuo." Enma Ai let go of Rikuo's hand. She was beginning to walk away, until she was quite far from him. About 5 meters in front of him or so...

_Wait... What is she doing?_

"Ai!" Rikuo shouted, trying to run to her and to grab her hand.

Before he could reach out to her, he was already on Enma Ai's lap, and they were back in the Nura main house.

They were both in the foyer, and the whole Nura clan was staring at them.

There were 2 basins placed beside Rikuo and Ai, and in those basins were sake, and in one basin, Rikuo's sword was dipped into the wine.

"Huh?" Rikuo questioned, and he looked around at everyone. He stopped at the point when he saw his mother, father (spirit) and grandfather at the opening entrance within the foyer. "What am I doing here?" he looked at Ai, he sat up. "Ai... You teleported me?" he asked.

"That's right. It has gotten late, and you still have classes tomorrow... Rikuo." Enma Ai replied.

Oh... Yeah, that's right. Today's Sunday, meaning classes are going to start again tomorrow. Another weekly morning without having to go out with Ai.

**MONDAY MORNING, IN UKIYOE MIDDLE SCHOOL:**

Another school day...

_*sigh...* I'm gonna have to wait until tonight. She's still keeping an eye on me, right? After all, I still have the doll... That means she has to observe what I'm doing with it._

"Rikuo?" Kana called. "Is everything alright? You've been spacing out lately..."

Of course he have been spacing out, you fool. But, then again, you don't know the reason why Rikuo is spacing out so much... You will NEVER KNOW THE REASON WHY.

"No, I'm fine. Sorry I worried you." This was Rikuo's only reply, and then he looked at the window again.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." Kiyotsugu, who approached Rikuo who was spacing out said.

Rikuo looked at him. "What?" Rikuo asked.

"You know, Nura... There is a yokai that is very desperate into learning people's relationship! And that yokai is... the AI NEKO!"

"Ai Neko?" Rikuo questioned. He has heard a lot about the Neko clan, but he hasn't heard anything about that 'Ai Neko'.

What or who could this yokai be?

"What is that? And what does that mean?" Rikuo asked.

"The Ai Neko only wants to know relationships between human beings... For example, she wants to learn about the relationship the Leader of all yokai has with the Hell girl; are they rivals? Are they enemies? Or... Are they something else? The Ai Neko shall find it out soon enough with just hard work!" Kiyotsugu replied.

"Where can you actually find that yokai? Tell me Kiyotsugu..." Rikuo said.

"According to the map, she is found in the Bakenekoya, in Ukiyoe town's first district!" Kiyotsugu replied, looking at his world map.

_Now I've got it._

"Thanks, Kiyotsugu!" Rikuo smiled.

**LATER ON THAT NIGHT, IN THE NURA MAIN HOUSE:**

"Ai Neko?" all the servants of the Nura clan asked Rikuo who was standing beside the sakura tree.

"That's right." Rikuo nodded.

He is very eager to find out more about this neko... What can she say to him and Ai? What can she say about their relationship?

"Master!" a demon cat (neko) ran to the Third Heir with a happy face. "I've got great news! That Ai Neko is actually a third cousin of mine! She is in the bar tonight! You can go see her there!"

"That's great, Ryota Neko." Rikuo smirked. "Ai."

Enma Ai appeared in his room, wearing her black floral kimono.

Rikuo walked to her and held her hand.

"Let's go."

Rikuo and Ai went to the Bakenekoya bar, where they were guided by Ryota Neko to look for Ai Neko. When the 2 yokai and Hell girl met with Ai Neko, Rikuo and Ai were surprised. Ai Neko was wearing a maid outfit, her tail was outside, and her cat ears were covered in fluffy things.

"Ai-chan, this is the Third Heir of the Nura clan, Rikuo Nura." Ryota Neko introduced.

The woman stood up and made a deep bow in front of the Third Heir.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, My Lord." She said. "What can I do for you tonight?"

"You can define relationships, right? Define ours." Rikuo said.

The woman-yokai looked at Rikuo and Ai, then vice-versa. She was amazed by the image the couple made.

It was IMPRESSIVE. VERY IMPRESSIVE. Her ears popped out, her tail quivered, and she 'nyaaned'.

Yes. Now she understood. She understood everything.

"My Lord... Could this girl beside you be..." Ai Neko began to ask. She was beginning to suspect that the girl was... Well, you know...

"Yeah. She's the Hell girl." Rikuo replied. He was really confident with the girl he is with now.

"Oh my... The Lord Of Pandemonium and the Hell girl? Woww! That is very interesting-nyan!" Ai Neko exclaimed , her tail wagging harder.

Of course, who would not be impressed by this awkward relationship? The leader of all yokai is with the girl who possesses Hell itself. POWERFUL!

"I see. I understand. Then, I shall tell the both of you the beginning..." Ai Neko said.

The 3 of them settled down on a table with Ai Neko sitting across them. Her eyes glowed purple as she began to say, "When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares. There is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment. It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves. Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."

"Choice?" Rikuo uttered.

"Something that includes fate..." Enma Ai followed.

"Sometimes the dreams that come true are the dreams you never even knew you had." Ai Neko continued.

Rikuo's eyes opened wide as he thought more about what the woman was trying to say.

_Is it... Destiny?_

"My Lord, My Lady, **Hearts** rebuilt from hope resurrect dreams killed by hate. Please don't forget that-nyan." Ai Neko finished with a wide smile, and then took a bow.

"Great job, Ai Neko." Rikuo smiled. He was contented with the definition of their relationship. The both of them are still... UNCERTAIN of each other. There are still so many things that needs to be developed before they stop their confusion. Yes, that's it. That's right.

After there, Rikuo and Ai go back to the main house of the Nura clan to discuss the definition of their relationship. Nurarihyon and the sub-clans' leaders were very amazed by the explanation the Third Heir said, and now all of them were sure what the date of destiny was.

"That was great, Rikuo." Nurarihyon said. There is nothing much better compared to the explanation he had.

**AFTER, RIKUO AND AI WENT TO THE POND IN THE NEARBY SAKURA TREE OUTISDE RIKUO'S ROOM:**

"Ai?" Rikuo called.

Ai was looking at the moon... She looked peaceful. After all, she is just an observer, right?

"You can't go back, Ever. You can't change the past. It just is. . . . This is our destiny. Not yours. Maybe that was what Ai Neko wanted to say. There is only OUR destiny, Rikuo." Enma Ai stated.

"Yeah, I guess it is." Rikuo went beside her and looked at the moon also.

_DESTINY is a feeling you have that you know something about yourself nobody else does. The picture you have in your own mind of what you're about WILL COME TRUE. It's a kind of a thing you kind of have to keep to your own self, because it's a fragile feeling, and you put it out there, then someone will kill it. It's best to keep that all inside._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> credits to the notable quotes from goodreads.com


	13. Chapter 13

"Rikuo?"

_Huh?_

"Rikuo?"

_What?_

"Hey, Rikuo..."

_K-what?_

"**Rikuo!**" a girl shouted. She has been calling Rikuo for minutes now! She is so pissed off!

Rikuo hasn't been changing his mind for the better... He isn't focusing his eyes on the blackboard whenever classes are on; he keeps dozing off lately, and keeps on looking at the window or going to the rooftop alone. What's wrong with him?

"K-Kana?" Rikuo merely uttered. He was a couch potato back then, so he was sleeping.

Rikuo and Kana were in the Nura Main House, specifically in Rikuo's room, searching for the projects, assignments, and all the other things Kiyotsugu forced them to get. All of these were for yokai discoveries, so it is compulsory for them to do so.

"What's wrong with you now, Rikuo?" Kana asked, patting his head. Rikuo fell asleep on Kana's lap, without him even realizing that she has been blushing the whole scenario. Even though this Rikuo is in the day form, Kana still blushed when she gets intimate with him. She confuses genuine intimacy with sexual feelings...

She is **INDEED** a stupid fool... YES... INDEED, A STUPID ONE... Bastard...

"Kana, how long have I been sleeping?" Rikuo asked as he sat up and faced the open door.

"Well... You've been sleeping for 2 hours now, Rikuo... After the sun set, while we were still searching for yokai information papers in your room, you suddenly fell asleep, so I caught you when you fell down..." Kana answered, blushing. She is still blushing...

_2 hours... Doesn't that mean this time is..._

"8 in the evening..." Rikuo said to himself, shocked. He was so shocked that he had forgotten to do something important... Something very important... "Have I... forgotten about it?"

"Rikuo, what are you talking about?" Kana asked, going near Rikuo. She wanted to get closer to his face, since it's already night, and there are only the 2 of them, she wants intimacy...

"What? No! No, no thanks..I'm fine, Kana." Rikuo said. "I think you should go now, Kana. It's late!" He ran behind Kana's back and pushed her out. He pulled her arm going out the mansion. Every servant of the clan went to the entrance wondering what was going on. They had questioning looks on their faces.

"R-rikuo?!" Kana kept on calling his name. She was curious why he wanted her out.

By the time she was out the gate, it closed and she was no longer able to see anything or anyone.

"What just happened?" Kana asked herself.

**BACK INSIDE THE MANSION:**

"Phew!" Rikuo sighed of relief in the foyer. "I'm glad that was over. Still... Why was I on her lap in the first place? Did Ai teleport me there? Was she the one who did it? Did she do it on purpose? No... That may not be the answer..." He kept on wondering. "Ai..." he closed his eyes and imagined her figure. Indeed, she is the most beautiful and most powerful girl for him. NO other girl can compare to her.

"You called?" a voice suddenly said, simultaneously with the ring of the bells again.

When Rikuo opened his eyes, he was already in his yokai form. He looked at the girl behind him. Well, that put a smile on his face. =)

"Ai!" Rikuo said. He was so happy to see his girl, his pretend property.

"I was busy, that's why." Ai said.

"That's fine." Rikuo replied. "Ai, I want to ask you something."

"You were on the human's lap because you fell asleep, that's why." Ai said instantly.

"You already knew the reason?" Rikuo asked. "Then..."

"That's all you want to know, isn't it?" Ai said.

"I guess you can say that." Rikuo replied. That's all he can say. Yeah, if ever he's going to reply, he's done for.

**IN THE MEETING ROOM:**

**INSIDE WERE: NURARIHYON, RIKUO, ENMA AI, KARASU-TENGU, AOTABO, KUROTABO, YUKI-ONNA, ZEN, GYUKI, HITOTSUME, AND THE THREE CROWS.**

"I'm assuming you know the reason why you are set here." Nurarihyon said, sitting comfortably on his pillow. "We'll be talking about some critical matter here... Well, that's the case anyway."

"Former Commander, will this cycle of hatred ever end? It seems as though the Third Heir found a friend instead of an enemy." Gyuki said, sitting on one side of the hall of fame. He is also into this business, being a guide for Rikuo and his comrades, for his whole Night Parade of One Hundred Demons.

"I know that you know pretty much about this website, the **jigokutsushin **that is..." Zen started. "But then... I object that you have a complaint about this stuff. Rikuo found a girl and he found her as a comrade, not an enemy. This is the least he can do, isn't it? He befriended the Hell girl so she will be distracted for a longer while." He finished.

"It has been a long time though, Zen." Karasu-tengu replied.

It has been 13 weeks since their first meeting, since the first time they had romance. Well, it's not actually romance, isn't it?

"I know everything about this, so you shouldn't go bossing me around, demons." Rikuo said, sitting beside Enma Ai, who was sitting beside Nurarihyon on the right. "Ai is very powerful, and I'm planning on recruiting her as a part of my parade, and as a part of me."

Everyone had such shocked expressions.

"As a part of... Lord Rikuo...?" Aotabo, Kurotabo and Yuki-onna uttered to themselves.

Why say that? Didn't Enma Ai deny that request a long time ago? Didn't she say she won't be a part of it? She's going to kill him if he does so.

Nurarihyon smiled and nodded. "But then..."

Everyone looked at him.

"Will she be worthy of taking this position? I know you demand her, Rikuo." Nurarihyon went serious.

The reason is... Because Rikuo went through to many girls, namely, Kana, the human being, Yura, the onmyouji, Tsurara, his most loyal servant, Torii, his friend, and Natsumi, his other friend, he thinks Rikuo has become a phony, being a playboy like that. It's not good ya know!

"I know her, old man." Rikuo replied, also going serious.

Oh yeah, he knows her alright!

"The Hell girl and the Lord of Pandemonium... What do you think of it?" he smirked.

"Lord Rikuo..." were in everyone's mouths.

"Lord Rikuo, are you certain of this?" Kurotabo asked.

"Master, we'll do anything for you!" Aotabo followed.

"Lord Rikuo, if that is what you want then..." Yuki-onna said, putting a smile of being proud on her face.

"Yeah." Rikuo replied.

Enma Ai kept silent all the while.

"Wait, wait wait! Hold on a minute!" Hitotsume interrupted the conversation and happiness of everyone in the room.

"What is it now... Hitotsume?" Karasu-tengu questioned.

"Why do we have to trust this little girl?" he pointed at Enma Ai offensively. "I don't want this clan to get hurt! Why do you have to agree with this, Former Commander? Can't you see this girl is the cause of all the hatred and despair of all these human beings? Wasn't she also the one who caused us to fear the times now because we might get sent to Hell? Tell me the reason why you agree with your grandson? He's just a kid after all! And also, befriending the Hell girl herself makes the situation go worse!"

"Hitotsume may have a point..." Gyuki said. "But..."

"Rikuo is now the Commander of the Nura clan." Nurarihyon declared. "And he decides whether to do something or not, to do something bad or good, and every operation in every case in every place in every time as long as the Nura clan has issues with it!"

Hitotsume got overboard this time. Well, yeah, that is true isn't it?

"Uhh... Fine then, it's your decision.." Hitotsume crossed his arms.

"You don't have to decide everything by yourself, Rikuo." Zen said. "If you need help, don't hesitate to ask us. We will be there for you."

Rikuo smiled. "Yeah, Zen."

Having this title won't hurt. I am sure of it! It is a very beautiful title indeed, and you won't even feel a little bit hurt! This title was made by the Hell girl and the Lord of Pandemonium after all!

**IN THE VILLAGE OF ETERNAL TWILIGHT:**

Rikuo and Enma Ai were strolling around the lakes, ponds, and even a small park together, with them holding hands.

Enma Ai was wearing her usual uniform, and Rikuo was in his human form.

"Ai, do you think I made the right decision? Do you think you can be a part of me as a demon?" Rikuo asked hesitatingly. He felt so much regret after saying that he wanted Enma Ai to be a part of him. He got scared all of a sudden.

"It's all up to you. I'm just the one observing you." Enma Ai replied.

"Yeah, you're right."


	14. THE BEAUTY OF LOVE, FRIENDSHIP & FAMILY

"Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy."

_I'M SURE... SOMEONE SPECIAL TOLD ME THAT..._

_WHO COULD IT BE?_

_I WONDER..._

_EVERYTHING SHE TOLD ME THOUGH..._

_IT WAS ALL..._

* * *

"What you do, the way you think, makes you beautiful." Rikuo said, cornering Enma Ai to the side wall of his room one night.

"You're making me wanting to devour you... Is that what you want, Ai?" he asked, caressing her hair.

Enma Ai was wearing her kimono, the on which she usually wears in delivering people to Hell and other 'hellish' stuff like that.

Oh, and... One question... How did she end up in Rikuo's room anyway?

Well, here is the story:

> Three nights after the night they conversed in the meeting room of the Nura main house with Nurarihyon, Hitotsume, Gyuki, Karasu-tengu, Aotabo, Kurotabo, Yuki-onna, Zen, and the three crows,Rikuo invited Enma Ai... or let's just say he called for Enma Ai at let's say about... 10 p.m., to his quarters to have a conversation about the future of his doll, what's going to happen to her if the doll is not returned, what will happen to Rikuo with the same reason, and will the cycle of hatred and despair ever ever ever disappear, wilt, end, change, yada yada yada... if he does something about it, or if Rikuo will turn his back against Enma Ai and kill her for the same reason...
> 
>   
TO END THIS MASTER PLAN OF INVADING THE EARTH AND CONQUERING IT WITH HATRED AND DESPAIR.
> 
>   
*sigh...* What a waste of supernatural romance and inevitable fate of their 'being together' for a while and having a silent friendship for the mean time...  
Could we just call it a show for crying out loud? Is this what friendship means? I mean... I thought friendship means a time when we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares...!

Well, what do you think, huh?

But then... what actually happened was...

When Enma Ai went inside the room, after she and Rikuo had tea, she was about to say something when she accidentally hit the pot that was behind her elbow on the corner of the small table, and it fell on the floor, and the tea spread going to her socks, and then her skirt.

What a waste of tea! Ugh, if I was the one who wet me, I would really run out and go to the bathroom!

However, in this case...

  
Enma Ai, after Rikuo looked at the spilled tea, he took a look at her, and when he did, she was already wearing her floral black kimono.

"Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy." Was what she said.

And then... It hit him. He stood up, almost knocking the table out, and then Enma Ai also stood up after him, panicked. He moved toward her, and she moved backwards, until she bumped her back at the wall.

Well, there isn't any choice now, is there? Just go... With the flow...

"What you do, the way you think, makes you beautiful." Rikuo said, cornering Enma Ai to the side wall of his room one night. "You're making me wanting to devour you... Is that what you want, Ai?" he asked, caressing her hair.

What the-junk? She only said one sentence to cover up carelessness, and then it hit Rikuo!

"Well, there is still beauty left here. Left in my mind, Ai." Rikuo said, smirking. "You know how I work things? Especially if it's with you?" He asked, with a low, sexy tone...

Enma Ai moaned suddenly. She already felt the hand that was gripping her shoulder. It felt so painful...

"Ri- Rikuo... This won't do..." she started to say, her voice still the same.  
"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve." She said.  
"Maybe if you could just... uh-... Do..." her right eye was closed. Rikuo has been gripping her shoulders for a long time... And now, he might just be creating scars.

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" Rikuo asked.

Enma Ai had no other choice but to lay her head down, her hair covering her face. Her face got dark...

"So help me, me." She said.

"So help you, you?" Rikuo wondered.

"If it pleases you, and even if it doesn't please you, I'll answer you." Enma Ai said.

Rikuo smirked again. Now he is happy. "Alright." He said. "I'll give it a shot,then."

Rikuo lowered his head, he kissed Enma Ai's forehead. "You know the last time we did this?" he asked.

"No." She shook her head.

Rikuo went down to the right side of her neck, he kissed it. "This?" he asked.

"No." She shook her head again.

Rikuo poked Enma Ai's forehead. He looked at her and smiled. His free hand still cornering her.

"Ai?" he whispered to her ear.

"uh-!" Enma Ai looked up. She looked straght at Rikuo's eyes. "What?"

"Nothing," Rikuo said, taking Enma Ai in, hugging her. "Hmph."

"Rikuo...?" Enma Ai muttered, breaking the sweet silence. "About your family..."

Rikuo looked at her. "Families are messy. Immortal families are eternally messy. Sometimes the best we can do is to remind each other that we're related for better or for worse...and try to keep the maiming and killing to a minimum." He said.

"Yokai..." Enma Ai uttered. Her eyes weren't at Rikuo's glance. Instead she was looking at his closet wherein the straw doll was. She was desperate to get it, but then... "I can't decide on my own. It has to be your decision." She muttered.

"One day you will do things for me that you hate. That is what it means to be family." Rikuo said, kissing her cheek.

"Family..?" Enma Ai took her words as a reply.

Family? Family... Family.

"You must remember, family is often born of blood, but it doesn't depend on blood. Nor is it exclusive of friendship. Family members can be your best friends, you know. And best friends, whether or not they are related to you, can be your family." Rikuo smiled, winking his right eye.

"Friends..." Enma Ai said.

Friends? Friends... Friends.

"Being a yokai isn't all about torture and murder and monsters. Sometimes it gets truly unpleasant...The fate of the world may depend on whether or not you can bring yourself to trust in your comrades." Rikuo said.

"Rikuo..."

"_You're truly a great leader, Rikuo._" A voice spoke to Rikuo's mind. It was a very familiar voice... Yes, that's right. It was his father, Rihan's voice! "Well done, my son."

Rikuo was filled with so much happiness inside his heart, he just wanted to burst out. He's so glad his father at least talked to him or whispered to him even though his father is now dead. And he has been for a very long time now.

Enma Ai wondered what brought Rikuo to a full stop. And so she took a hold onto Rikuo's sleeves.

"Rikuo? Are you still there?" she asked.

Rikuo looked at Enma Ai who was already looking at him.

"I remember only one thing, though, Rikuo..." she said.

"What?"

"We will be friends forever, won't we, Rikuo?" she asked with a regular face.

"Hmph." Rikuo smirked. "I told you..." he kissed Enma Ai's hair. "Even longer."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> credits to all notable quotes found @goodreads.com  
some quotes were also inspired by the movie Oh God! starring George Burns


	15. THE TONO STORY

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the anime, it was said that Rikuo was desperate to go to Kyoto to save Yura and to avenge the death of his father, that's why Nurarihyon was left with no choice but to send his grandson to Tono Village to train him and improve his power to the next level because he will never defeat Hagoromo Gitsune in his current ability and worst, he might die by only going to Kyoto.
> 
> In the village, he met new friends who helped him discover his own self - as a powerful yokai carrying the blood of Nurarihyon, the Supreme Commander of all yokai. And these friends were: Akagappa, the leader of the village; Itaku, who was instructed to watch and teach Rikuo; Amezo, a kappa; Awashima (well, she likes Rikuo :-( ); Reira, a yuki-onna; Yukari, seeming to be the only child in the village and is close to Reira; Dohiko, and Namahage.

**IN THE VILLAGE OF ETERNAL TWILIGHT:**

Rikuo, in his yokai form, and Enma Ai were sitting outside the room of Enma Ai's grandmother. Wanyuudou, Hone-onna, Kikuri (a little girl who seems to possess the Lord of Hell), and IchimokuRen(who is Rikuo's doll and turned to human form for the time being) were on standby in the nearby pond, and were watching Rikuo look and smile at the Hell girl who was playing with her paper balloon.

"Gosh, those two... Won't that yokai boy ever stop going after the Mistress?" Hone-onna whispered. She has an obviously irritated look on her face. "IchimokuRen, can't you just go back to the Mistress secretly and tell her that the yokai boy wants to give it back?"

"That wouldn't be so nice? I might get my head cut because of that dumb excuse!" IchimokuRen replied. "And besides..." he smiled and looked at Enma Ai. "I like the Mistress this way. I hope she is happy."

"Kind of, IchimokuRen... They are kind of happy, huh?" Wanyuudou commented.

Well, yeah... I guess he was also happy seeing his Mistress be like that. Maybe it gives him the feeling that his Mistress is happy...

"Hey, Baldy!" Kikuri screamed, playing on the old man's head. "Why can't you just leave them alone? Isn't Ai happy now that she has found a friend?"

AND IT HIT THE 3 OF THEM.

The assistants gasped at what the little girl just said.

"What are you implying, Kikuri?" Wanyuudou asked.

"All I'm trying to say is... AI IS HAPPY WITHOUT YOU GUYS! TEEHEE!" Kikuri widely smiled.

AND IT HIT THE 3 OF THEM AGAIN.

WE... WE ARE ALL... USELESS NOW? They asked themselves.

Hone-onna ran to Enma Ai and grabbed her shoulders. "You can't do this, Mistress! We cannot leave you! We are your assistants and we will always be!" she exclaimed.

She is a woman, so she can understand her Mistress. (FEMINAZI alert)

"Hone-onna, what are you talking about?" Rikuo, Wanyuudou and IchimokuRen chased.

Wanyuudou and IchimokuRen pulled Hone-onna away from Enma Ai.

"Stop this, woman!" Wanyuudou said.

"The-there isn't anything behind her words, Mistress!" IchimokuRen protested along with his partner.

Kikuri laughed a lot, lying on the ground. "You guys are big losers, ahahaha!"

"Please stay quiet, Kikuri." The grandmother ordered. She sighed and opened the slightly opened the sliding door which revealed only her shoulder. "The three of you... You are the assistants of little Ai, so you can't break up with her, is that all clear to all of you?"

"That's right, you lot." Rikuo said, smirking. He looked at the 3 assistants and looked at Enma Ai.

"Why should you break up when you're already with me?" Enma Ai asked.

'MISTRESS...' Were on the assistants' mouths.

Well, they were touched.

"The 3 of you are united... and will always be." Rikuo added. "You know who you are, so believe in yourselves."

"Now that this fight is over... Ai? Would you like to go out for a while?" The grandmother asked.

"No, grandmother." Enma Ai replied.

As you may know... As much as you may know (even in the anime), Enma Ai can go travelling... Alone.

"WHAT?" the 3 exclaimed. "What do you mean 'what'?" Kikuri asked.

"Hey, come on now, Ai." Rikuo began. "Let's go travelling..."

"Where do you plan on going?" Hone-onna asked.

"To Tono!" Rikuo declared.

"Tono?" Kikuri, Wanyuudou and IchimokuRen questioned. "Where the heck is that?" they asked together.

"Old man threw me to that place before so I could train since I wasn't allowed to go to Kyoto without hard training. And so I learned Kyoka Suigetsu." Rikuo replied.

"Tono, eh, Nura Rikuo?" the grandmother said, somehow you can imagine her having a smile of being excited to do a certain challenge.

"Let's go to Tono." Enma Ai said to her assistants, and to Rikuo.

* * *

**AFTER HOURS, THEY WENT HOME TO THE NURA MAIN HOUSE.**

**AND, THE TIME WAS...WELL, 10 IN THE MORNING:**

**IN THE MEETING ROOM:**

**TOGETHER WITH: NURARIHYON, RIKUO, ENMA AI, WANYUUDOU, HONE-ONNA, ICHIMOKUREN, KARASU-TENGU, ZEN, GYUKI, AOTABO, KUROTABO, YUKI-ONNA AND KUBINASHI.**

**OUTISDE THE ROOM, STANDING BY WERE WAKANA, KEJORO AND KAPPA. THEY WERE ACTUALLY... JUST EAVESDROPPING (HEHE):**

"So you have decided to go to Tono for a trip?" Nurarihyon asked the couple sitting in front of him.

"I'd like to introduce Ai to the others, and I'll see if they would approve of her as a part of me, as a part of the future clan and parade to be made." Rikuo, now in his human form, said.

Ai was wearing her usual uniform. A while ago, in the village of eternal twilight, she was in her black floral kimono.

"Are you sure about this, Master?" Aotabo, who was sitting at the back, stood up and asked. "It might be dangerous for that little girl to go there!"

Enma Ai, Rikuo and Nurarihyon looked at Aotabo with serious faces. Aotabo lowered down... Well, he doesn't know anything... I think... He is sometimes clueless about things that are not in his nature...

"Who do you think is the little girl in this meeting room, Aotabo?" Gyuki, who was sitting at the right side of the room asked. "Who do you think are you discriminating?"

"Aotabo just shut up, will you!?" Yuki-onna protested and brought Aotabo to sit down. "Geez! Don't you know that the person beside Lord Rikuo, the girl you pity is the Hell girl?" she whispered to him.

"WHAT?" Aotabo yelled in shock. "THAT GIRL IS THE HELL GIRL?" He pointed at Enma Ai.

Enma Ai looked at his eyes, and suddenly, Aotabo fell ill. When he looked at the Hell girl's eyes, it was like he was taking a glimpse of Hell, something he never wanted to do, but now he was forced to do so just by looking at the eyes of an innocent girl.

"_Wha-what is this girl?_" He asked himself, he thought.

"Ahem.!" Nurarihyon cleared his throat.

Everyone looked back at him.

"Rikuo, of course the guys in Tono are going to approve of her! She is the Hell girl after all!" Zen exclaimed.

"What if they think of her as a human being?" Karasu-tengu questioned. "Lord Rikuo, are you going to tell them that Lady Enma Ai is the Hell girl?" he asked.

"If the time comes. For the mean time, I'll tell them she is Nura, Ai, my** cousin**." Rikuo smiled. He has a plan on his mind.

"NURA, AI?" Everyone had their mouths wide open.

"Lord Rikuo, what do you mean Nura Ai, your **cousin**? You know you don't have any relatives!" Karasu-tengu objected. "And besides, they will know for sure if she is a yokai or not!"

"Yokai are evil..." Nurarihyon began. He said it with a smirk. "However... Rikuo isn't like those type of yokai..."

"Former Commander?" Gyuki muttered.

"Is this your way of letting them approve of her, Rikuo?" Zen asked.

"Yeah, I guess..." Rikuo replied. "If I introduce her to them as my cousin, they'll have high respect for her, don't you think so?"

"That's not the case, yokai boy!" Hone-onna, who was seated at the back, stood up and exclaimed.

"Hone-onna?" Rikuo looked at the bone woman.

"Hone-onna..." Enma Ai stared at her.

While the Hell girl stared at the bone woman, it was more like a glare than a stare... Hone-onna could feel the Hellish-like chills in her bones... So she lowered down.

"Nice going, you fool." Wanyuudou whispered to her.

"I couldn't just leave this stupid-!" Hone-onna got cut off when IchimokuRen covered her mouth.

"Shut up." IchimokuRen told Hone-onna, and then uncovered the woman's mouth. She exhaled.

"By the way, Lord Rikuo..." Kubinashi, who was at the back with the others started. Everyone faced him. "When are you going to Tono, then?" he asked.

"Today." Rikuo replied.

TODAY? Everyone asked.

"Hmph." Nurarihyon nodded. "I have thrown you once and now I'm gonna do it again." He smiled.

"Still... I didn't know how I got there, so I guess it really meant throwing me, huh, old man?" Rikuo replied.

"Come with me." Enma Ai stood up and said, offering a hand to Rikuo.

"Eh?" Rikuo asked. He held the Hell girl's hand and also stood up.

"Let's go to Tono." Enma Ai replied.

And suddenly, the place changed from the meeting room to the room where Rikuo ended up in Tono before. The both of them were surrounded by the same guys as before.

"Huh?" Rikuo, already in his yokai form, wearing the plain robe he wore before, questioned. He looked around, and he saw very similar faces.

"Hey... If it isn't Rikuo!" Everyone yelled and went closer to the Third Heir.

"Awashima... Itaku? Reira... Dohiko?" Rikuo muttered. "Yo." He smiled. "It's been a while."

"Rikuo, who is that girl holding your hand?" everyone asked.

'Wow, she is really white!" Reira and Dohiko commented.

"But she is really beautiful!" Amezo also said.

"What?" Rikuo questioned and looked at Enma Ai.

Rikuo got pretty shocked when he saw Enma Ai wearing a straw cape over a brown kimono; she was wearing a farmer's hat, and in her free hand, was a lantern.

_Why is she wearing that?_

"Who is she, Rikuo? Your girlfriend?" Everyone asked.

"No! You're wrong! This is..." Rikuo got cut off.

Enma Ai let go of Rikuo's hand and faced the other yokais. "I am Enma Ai."

Ooooohh... o_O

"Nice to meet you, Ai!" Everyone smiled, went kind, shook her hands and took a closer look at the Hell girl.

Well, no one still knew she was the Hell girl. Ehehe :-)

"Rikuo..." Itaku whispered. "Enma Ai? Who is that girl exactly?" he asked.

"That's why I brought her here. So that you'll all know who she is." Rikuo replied.

"And what do you want us to do with her in here?" Itaku asked again.

"I want all of you... To acknowledge her as a part of me." Rikuo smirked.

EVERYONE HAD CURIOUS LOOKS. YUP, THEY HEARD HIM ALRIGHT. THEY HEARD WHAT HE JUST SAID.

"TO ACKNOWLEDGE AI AS A PART OF YOU?" Everyone asked.

"WHAAT?!" surprisingly, Wanyuudou, Hone-onna, and IchimokuRen appeared from the behind. "THAT was your real motive?"

"I told you so, didn't I?" Rikuo questioned.

"Fine... Mistress isn't going to say anything, anyway..." Hone-onna said. "But we'll keep watch over her."

"Fine by me." Rikuo smirked.

"Well then, let's make sure this special girl over here gets the treat she wants!" Awashima said, patting Enma Ai's head.

**And then they all headed out to the battlefield, where Rikuo first trained his Kyoka Suigetsu.**

"What are we doing here?" Rikuo asked.

"I want to see if the girl you chose is a powerful one, Rikuo. Can she take what we have to offer?" Itaku said, preparing his weapons. "We don't want to get disappointed at you."

"You need to have a good taste for girls, man." Dohiko, who was beside Itaku said.

* * *

**The group of yokai were divided into 2.**

**In the first line, there were: Rikuo, Enma Ai, Wanyuudou, Hone-onna and IchimokuRen.**

**In the other line were: Itaku, Dohiko, Amezo, Awashima and Reira. **

**The Tono group are planning to fight only Enma Ai, who they still don't know is the Hell girl.**

"Guys, this might not be a good idea. You might get killed..." Rikuo said.

"What now? Underestimating us? That girl looks weak, Rikuo..." Dohiko said.

"No, that's not the point..." Rikuo uttered.

_Ugh, this is bad... If they'll fight Ai, they are sure to get a glimpse of Hell! Even if it's just that, they might suffer from a serious shock!_

"Well, the, let's begin!" Itaku disappeared.

"MISTRESS!" The 3 assistants got caught.

"They're so fast!" IchimokuRen stated.

"I couldn't even move!" Hone-onna exclaimed.

"What just happened?" Wanyuudou questioned.

**Amezo caught Wanyuudou; Awashima caught Hone-onna; and Reira froze the lower half of IchimokuRen.**

Suddenly, Itaku chained Enma Ai's hands, arms and body, which he thought she won't be able to escape for sure.

"AI!" Rikuo shouted, which triggered him to use his Fear to disappear.

_You have to hold on for a while, Ai! I'll come to save you soon! Just wait a little while!_

"Hmm... It seems Rikuo chose a weakling... How unfortunate" Itaku said. He was behind Enma Ai, holding the chains tight. "But there's... The only thing that differs is... You have red eyes..." Enma Ai looked back at Itaku.

"ITAKU!" Dohiko shouted, from a mile in front of the 2.

"That's enough now, Dohiko." Rikuo, appearing in a black cloud, cloaked in his Fear, and hitting Dohiko with his sword. Dohiko fell, unconscious, immobile.

"Itaku, maybe you are the one underestimating my girl." Rikuo smirked, putting his sword on his shoulder.

"What?" Itaku questioned. He took a look at Enma Ai once again.

AND EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING AROUND HIM... TURNED COMPLETELY DARK.

**IN THE EYES OF ITAKU, AMEZO, AWASHIMA AND REIRA, THEY WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. THEY WERE TRAPPED IN DARKNESS.**

**THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO SEE ANYTHING.**

**SUDDENLY, A HUGE MIRROR APPEARED IN FRONT OF THEM. A MIRROR HUGE ENOUGH TO MAKE THEM SEE THEIR WHOLE REFLECTION.**

**THE GROUP BECAME INDIVIDUALIZED; EACH OF THEM WERE ALONE. THE MIRRORS HAD RED SMUDGES ON THE CORNERS. RED - THE COLOR OF BLOOD.**

* * *

**AMEZO:**

"What is this?" he asked, looking around.

He couldn't use his powers for some reason.

Then, while looking at the mirror, he saw a wheel, spinning and spinning from afar, yet it's coming towards him.

"What?" he uttered.

When the wheel appeared before him, his eyes widened, his mouth opened in shock.

Wanyuudou became a yokai terrorizing Amezo in the form of a flaming wheel with his own enlarged, infuriated face as a hubcap.

"NOOO!" Amezo screamed in terror.

* * *

**AWASHIMA:**

"What just happened?"He/ she asked.

Where is the woman I fought?"

"She's right behind you..." a woman's voice said.

Awashima took a glance behind him/her, and saw Hone-onna in bones without flesh, and 10 more women in bones covered in blood, grabbing Awashima's legs, arms, and his/her body, causing him/her to react in fear because of the thought of tearing him/her into shreds.

"NOOO!" Awashima yelled in fear.

* * *

**REIRA:**

"Where is this?" she asked.

"A place where you wouldn't want to go." A man's voice said.

"A place where I-?" she was cut off when she suddenly saw bloody eyes appearing all over the darkness.

"Gyaah! What is this?" she yelled.

"Look at the mirror, Reira." The man's voice ordered her.

And as she did, she saw her whole body covered in eyes that were spitting blood to her mouth; and the worst of all... Even her head was a big eye.

"NOOO!" Reira screamed.

* * *

**ITAKU:**

Itaku was prepared. He held onto his weapons, and he was only looking at the mirror for enemies.

And now, he was looking for Enma Ai.

"Tsk, where is this place? Is this still even Tono?" he asked.

"Yes, you can say so." A voice, a strange voice, one that is high and one that is low said.

Itaku felt it was behind him, and so he faced back.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Can't you tell?" the voice asked.

Itaku looked at the mirror. His eyes opened wide in terrible shock.

"It's you who is talking." The voice said.

Itaku's mouth was so big that it tore his jaws apart that triggered him to fall to his knees and cover his face from blood that was spilling.

"NOOO! He screamed.

**ENMA AI APPEARED BEFORE ALL OF THE VICTIMS, NOW WEARING HER BLACK KIMONO.**

EVERYONE WAS CRYING OUT LOUD. THEY WERE ALL ON THEIR KNEES, COVERING THEIR FACES AND THEIR EARS FROM THE AWFUL SCENE THEY WERE JUST IN.

"Oh pitiful shadows lost in the darkness, bringing torment and pain to others. Oh damned soul wallowing in your sins... How would you like to see what death is like?" she said.

**AMEZO, AWASHIMA, REIRA AND ITAKU WERE ALL LYING ON THE BOAT THAT WAS BEING ROWED BY ENMA AI.**

**THE TIME THEY ENTERED THE GATE TO HELL, THOSE EVIL BELLS RANG.**

* * *

"Are you okay?" somebody asked.

The yokai slowly opened their eyes.

They saw Rikuo, Enma Ai and the others standing before them.

"Wha-what just happened?" Awashima asked.

Dohiko laughed. "Hahaha! You were just taken back from Hell you guys!"

"Hell?" Reira questioned.

They stood up.

"Ai... What was that just now?" Amezo asked.

"It was your imagination of Hell, you fool." Hone-onna replied.

"HELL? SO IT WAS HELL AFTER ALL!" The 4 exclaimed.

"That was..." Awashima started. "THAT WAS SO AMAZING!" She exclaimed and went to Enma Ai. "HOW DID YOU DO THAT, AI?"

"As I thought, you weren't a normal person, Enma Ai." Itaku said.

"Of course she is not! She is the Hell girl!" Hone-onna said.

HELL GIRL? HELL GIRL!

"Hmph!" Rikuo smirked.

Everyone praised Enma Ai. They were so happy to have found a very very very powerful demon!

Well, girl... From Hell...

* * *

**LATER ON:**

**BACK IN THE HOUSE IN THE VILLAGE:**

The Tono yokai were celebrating Rikuo to have found such an amazing girl. They were having a party-party!

"Rikuo..." Itaku, sitting in front of Rikuo, started. "You sure did a good job." He smiled.

"Of course I did." Rikuo smirked, putting a shoulder on Enma Ai. "I'm waiting for the title of the HELL GIRL AND THE LORD OF PANDEMONIUM."

"This sure is cool, Rikuo!" Awashima, sitting beside Itaku in front of Enma Ai, commented. "I never thought you would find someone like her!"

"It's best to take care of her, Rikuo." Akagappa, the leader of the village, who was standing behind all of them, said. "You don't want to lose an important comrade."

"Yeah... but I guess.. she's more that just an important comrade." Rikuo smiled and glanced at Enma Ai. She was just calm and cold about things. She was looking at the people dancing and having fun.

"Enjoyment." She muttered.

**Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.**


	16. One Night

"Excuse me while I kiss the sky." Rikuo, in his yokai form, said while looking at the new moon.

The whole Nura clan looked at him from behind and observed the Third Heir.

What is he doing? Why is he saying he's going to kiss the sky? What is so important about the sky? What is so beautiful about it?

The girl... That girl is not here or there or anywhere yet... She still has not arrived.

"Well?" Nurarihyon, also at the back with the others, asked the yokai beside him.

"Former Commander..." Karasu-tengu started to whisper. "Maybe the Third Heir is just hallucinating... He can't kiss the sky, right?"

Although, Rikuo is already making a gesture.. Hehe =)

"Hallucinating... What exactly?" Zen questioned. "That girl isn't here, is she? Maybe that's why.."

"No." Gyuki said, going front. "The Third Heir is not obsessed with that girl. They may have been friends for a long time, but he won't become something like that."

A long time. Rikuo and the girl have been "friends" for 16 weeks already.

"Yeah, I think you're right..." Zen replied. "But, then again..." He looked at Rikuo again.

_Rikuo, don't give me a headache or any sort of problem... _Zen thought.

"Rikuo-kun?" a somewhat very familiar and cute voice said from the front gate. Now, they have a visitor.

"WHAT?" Everyone said. Yuki-onna and Kejoro went to the entrance where the visitor was located.

And they saw HER.

"M-ms. Ienaga?!" the Yuki-onna screamed. "What on earth are you doing here?!"

"Ms. Oikawa...?" Kana questioned at the same time.

Well. The Yuki-onna transformed into her human form while walking, because she knew who it was. It really IS Kana.

"Ms. Oikawa, can I see Rikuo?" Kana asked... Requested.

"This late at night?!" Yuki-onna exclaimed.

NO WAY! This is NOT ALLOWED! NO WAY!

"Kana-chan?"

The 3 girls looked behind.

"M-MASTER?! Ah- I mean..." Yuki-onna screamed, then stopped and looked away.

"I-it's You..." Kana blushed a lot. Right, she is looking at the man who was always saving her before...

Hahaix... "What are you doing here?" she asked. "Why are you in... in here?"

DON'T YOU DARE SPILL THE BEANS, STUPID HUMAN...

"I should be asking you that." Rikuo said as he approached the girl. "Why are you still awake this late at night? What do you want from Rikuo?"

"Eh? Oh, I just wanted to see him. I didn't have anything to do, especially at this time. I know I should be asleep, but it's just that... We were on a trip, you know... The yokai discoveries..?" Kana tried to say, she was not looking directly at Rikuo's eyes. Her hands were clasped on her chest.

"I see." Rikuo replied. "So you were with that yokai patrol group of yours having another hunt, huh?"

"Uh- Right." Kana nodded.

"Hmph. I'm just a visitor here; I have no connections with this Rikuo or whoever, so I'm not the one you should confront." Rikuo said. He started to walk away, with Kejoro and Yuki-onna starting to close the gate.

"No, wait!" Kana held a grip on Rikuo's blue robe.

"Hmm?" Rikuo looked back at the girl. "What?"

"Well, since you're here, can you just stay with me... For a bit longer, please?" Kana begged, looking down.

What? This already happened during Kana's birthday, right? She did this to him before, right? And now she is aiming to get him again?! Woah-ho-ho-ho!

"I'm sorry, babe." Kejoro said. "But the Master's busy, so maybe you can go to Rikuo next time, okay?"

Yuki-onna made Kana let go of her grip on Rikuo, then the gate closed. LOCKED KANA OUT.

"Uh-! But..." Kana stopped hoping. She thought she'd be able to get the guy, but it seems she didn't.

"Geez, that human..." Yuki-onna, back on her yokai form, kept on complaining while walking with Kejoro, behind Rikuo.

" Oh, please, Yuki-onna..." Kejoro said. "Stop being so jealous. Be happy at least, the Master didn't accept her invitation."

"Yeah, but..." Yuki-onna murmured.

"Yeah, be happy, Tsurara." Rikuo looked at her smirking. Yuki-onna blushed.

The 3 went to the foyer, where Nurarihyon and the others were waiting.

And then, Rikuo finally saw her.

"Ai?" Rikuo questioned.

"Well, she came now, so..." Nurarihyon said. "Go and have your time, Rikuo." He smiled.

"Yeah." Rikuo nodded to his grandfather, then looked at Enma Ai.

_Someday, I might have to choose my bride..._

_But... This isn't the end yet. I still have a lot of time to decide._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> credits to the notable quotes from goodreads.com


	17. The Second

Rikuo was at the rooftop of his school. It was 4 p.m., he was still in his human form.

The Kiyotsugu Patrol Group was with him. They were having a meeting about the next yokai hunt they will be doing.

He was leaning on the bars, looking at the sky, wondering about what is happening to the world, to **HIS **world.

He sighed of boredom.

How long will it take for the sunset to set? The time... Why does it have to be so slow? He closed his eyes and imagined the figure of _**THAT **_girl, the one he sort of, kind of, somewhat, pretty, slightly **LIKES.**

The girl with brown hair, a special friend of his, who was listening to the meeting, at the same time was worried about him. She was a meter away from him, and she kept on looking at him, wondering whatever he was thinking.

_Rikuo-kun?_ She thought.

Yura followed her gaze after noticing what she was looking at.

_Ienaga is looking at him... Is she that worried about him? Do they really have a relationship? No... I don't think so... After Rikuo introduced his true self to me... It doesn't sound like he'll like any girl..._

Her cheeks became a little red. She didn't mean to think that the night Rikuo would actually LIKE her...

_Still... _She looked at Kana, then to Rikuo. _I wonder how everything is going to work out between them..._

**After the meeting**, Kana joined going home with Rikuo because she thought she might be able to cheer him up.

They walked side by side, with a small distance between them.

She kept on glancing at him, until, well, she got caught.

"Huh?" Rikuo wondered, "What is it, Kana?" he asked.

"What? Oh, no. Nothing. I don't have any problem!" Kana shook her head.

"Oh." Rikuo turned his eyes back into track of the sidewalk.

Kana looked again. She was hesitating to ask him about how he's feeling today; the reason why he was spacing out.

Will he always be spacing out every morning until the afternoon after classes?

"Hey... Rikuo-kun?" She called without looking at him.

"What?"

"How are you feeling today? Why do you seem so weak? Do you have any problem? Is it your studies? Your family? Or whatever?" she asked.

"Woah- you've got so many questions. I can't answer all of them in one shot, Kana-chan..." Rikuo smiled a little.

"Well... I just want to know how you're feeling today and if you have any problem... You seem to be weak and you've been spacing out..." Kana said.

"Actually, Kana-chan, I'm fine." Rikuo replied.

"What? With a face like that? You're fine?" Kana questioned. "Why do you say that? You look completely different! I know you deep inside, Rikuo. We've been friends for a long time! You should at least tell me your problem!" Kana exclaimed.

Rikuo stopped at the corner. His face became dark.

"Rikuo-kun?" Kana wondered. "Why did you stop?" she asked.

"Your house is in the other side, right? You better go. It's getting late. We should split here." Rikuo said. He wasn't looking at Kana. His fists were clenched on the sides, HE WAS SERIOUS!

"Oh, yeah, you're right." Kana just agreed. "Well, then, I better be going!" she ran away.

_Rikuo-kun... Rikuo-kun..._ She kept on thinking.

**Rikuo** was left all alone at the corner, until the sun finally set.

"Lord Rikuo?" Tsurara and Aotabo suddenly appeared.

Their Master sure was still. He was so steady; he was like a statue...

"What seems to be the problem, Lord Rikuo?" they asked the poor guy.

"I guess I'm just..." Rikuo muttered. "Bored..." He said in a doubtful and sad way.

He looked at his 2 servants, he knew this was his problem. He's **BORED.**

"Have you seen her yet?" he asked.

"Lord Rikuo... Who is 'her' exactly?" Tsurara wondered.

"Hoy, Tsurara..." Aotabo whispered to her. "The Master meant the **Hellgirl**..."

Yes... That's right... Her... They haven't been seeing each other for a whole month now...

"Uh... Oh, I see..." Tsurara covered her mouth in surprise by realizing what the Master meant by 'her'.

**The 3 of them went back home**.

Rikuo was greeted welcome back; he passed through the foyer, passed through the halls, and landed in his room.

He opened the door but didn't go inside. He threw his bag on the floor, and suddenly, as the wind blew and cherry petals flew, he transformed into his night form.

The handsome yokai, night Rikuo. He had a very serious look on his face, and his eyes were flashy red.

_Now to look for her..._


	18. The Search

The handsome yokai, night Rikuo. He had a serious look on his face, and his eyes were flashy red.

_Now to look for her..._

> And so... The search began in the midst of a dark, hazy night.
> 
> 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. is all they have.
> 
> 7 hours to search for the girl or the 'her' Rikuo has been wanting.
> 
> **THE HELLGIRL.**

* * *

3 days before the month of boredom started:

Rikuo and Enma Ai were facing each other under the cherry blossom tree. Rikuo's doll, IchimokuRen was at the girl's side.

"I'll say this once for you, Lord of Pandemonium. It's been a long time since the two of you met. You created a silent friendship. But right now it's unfortunate for me to say that it's all going to end once and for all." IchimokuRen declared.

"What are you saying?" Rikuo asked.

"You and I are going to be separated... Forever." Enma Ai said.

_WHAT? WHY?_

"Ai..." Rikuo muttered. "WHY?! WHY DID YOU DECIDE ON THIS SO SUDDENLY? TELL ME A GOOD REASON!"

"People like you... Don't usually last this long with me... Rikuo. If this keeps on going on, then..." Enma Ai uttered. She couldn't leak any of her emotions. Never.

But then... Why does it have to be now? Why did it have to happen so suddenly? It's unexplicable!

_What are you saying, Ai? Why are you only telling me this now?_

The other 2 assistants of the Hell girl, Wanyuudou and Hone-onna, appeared beside her. Showing gestures of getting ready to fight.

"This is it, yokai boy. It's finally sayonara." Hone-onna said.

Aotabo, Kubinashi, and Yuki-onna ran to their Master, having the same positions as the assistants.

"Surely you know that our Master can't lose." Yuki-onna stated. "He can only gain."

Rikuo was staring at the Hell girl. He didn't know what to do or how to do anything exactly. His mind has been blown up! It's like a dead and lowly person trying to get up although he already knows he can't!

"Why say this to me now, Ai?" Rikuo asked.

"It wasn't my decision. It's his." Enma Ai pointed at the man standing behind Rikuo.

Rikuo and his servants looked behind them, and was shocked to see who it was.

_Why? Why you? Why you again? Why you again always?_

"Honestly... You always have to ruin everything, huh, Rikuo?" the man said. "She was supposed to go now, but since you were able to see her escape, it's all over. You are seriously one troublesome man..."

"Why the hell does it have to be you..." Rikuo began, he glared at the man.

"OLD MAN!" he growled. He was so mad at his grandfather. He thought Nurarihyon wouldn't bother to touch him nor the Hell girl. He thought he would leave the both of them alone.

However... It was all...** IMAGINATION...**

"Why do this to me, old man?" Rikuo questioned.

"The first time you met her I knew you could use her. Actually... **WE **could use her to stop the cycle of hatred, and to stop our Fear from disappearing. We became afraid of her, remember, Rikuo?" Nurarihyon answered.

"WHAT? I THOUGHT YOU THOUGHT SHE WAS A NICE GIRL! I THOUGHT YOU SAID SHE WAS A NICE FRIEND OF MINE! I THOUGHT YOU SAID WE COULD BECOME FRIENDS!" Rikuoburst out in anger, shouting at his grandfather. "You bastard... You're a traitor!"

"Stop it, Rikuo. This is so inappropriate of you." Nurarihyon talked back.

"_Enma... Ai._"

"_Enma... Ai._"

"_Enma... Ai._"

_Now... I definitely remember everything... The old man was even the one who told me that name..._

_That name... it kept on appearing over and over again in my mind..._

_I couldn't think properly, that website, jigokutsushin... Fear that kept on coming back whenever I thought about that._

_Her appearance... Her voice... Her attitude... Her objective... I want to know everything... I want to know... **WHO SHE REALLY IS.**_

_But it was all for nothing... It's all because of this old man..._

"I thought you would leave us alone... But I guess you didn't." Rikuo said.

"Don't blame me for hurting you, Rikuo. You know you can't like that kind of girl. She's too powerful for you. And besides... We got a hold of her already, so now she knows that it is impossible for her to take any one of us from the Nura clan and the sub clans to Hell. Do you understand?" Nurarihyon said.

"You didn't tell me to not like her!" Rikuo shouted.

He was so angry! Damn it this f**king sh*t is pissing him off! Why the hell does this have to happen to him?

"Rikuo..." Enma Ai, suddenly from out of the blue, touched Rikuo's left cheek and went close to his face. "You start with a darkness to move through but sometimes the darkness moves through you." She whispered to him.

"Ai...?" Rikuo looked at the girl.

_Even she's into it?_

"Rikuo..." Enma Ai faced back, and started walking away slowly. "I have exacted your revenge." She and her assistants disappeared.

A red threat fell right in front of Rikuo.

_Ai... Ai?_

Rikuo's eyes wide opened. He was so shocked! He couldn't believe his eyes! The girl actually left him!

* * *

_That's why... I have to look for her... Because without her... I'm just... I'm just a yokai walking in the dead..._

**Rikuo never stopped thinking about how the conflict started.**

He was sitting on top of a building, looking out, looking down.

He glanced at the people, trying to look for her. He glanced at his sides to see if she's standing there. He looked at electric posts to see if she's there also looking out for people.

However... She was nowhere to be found.

_Why? Why did this have to happen?_

"Master?" Kurotabo suddenly appeared below the Third Heir.

"Got any news for me?" Rikuo asked.

"She isn't anywhere around the city." Kurotabo replied. "She can't be found."

"I see..?" Rikuo smiled and looked at the bright full moon. He was thinking about something.

It was like there's a secret something that only he knew where the Hell girl would be if she couldn't be found anywhere. Unfortunately, there isn't.

"Ai."

It is such a lovely name, ya know? A beautiful name!

Ai... Which means LOVE. However...

_The girl doesn't love. She doesn't have any emotions. Not at all._

"Master, what are we going to do now?" Aotabo appeared beside Kurotabo.

Rikuo stood up, put his sword on his shoulder and smirked.

"You know what I think, guys?" he said.

HUHH?

"How about we go for some fun tonight?" he asked.

HUHH?

"M-master... What fun?" Yuki-onna appeared beside the 2.

"You'll see. Let's get moving." Rikuo walked away, and everyone followed him.

_I'm sure... I'll see her._


	19. The Search 2

"Master, what are we going to do now?" Aotabo appeared beside Kurotabo.

Rikuo stood up, put his sword on his shoulder and smirked.

"You know what I think, guys?" he said.

HUHH?

"How about we go for some fun tonight?" he asked.

HUHH?

"M-master... What fun?" Yuki-onna appeared beside the 2.

"You'll see. Let's get moving." Rikuo walked away, and everyone followed him.

_I'm sure... I'll see her._

* * *

A night festival was being held at a temple east of Ukiyoe town; humans and yokai alike were able to visit the place.

Rikuo and the others walked through the entrance and looked around.

"Wow..." All of the servants were amazed to see the lights of different sizes,shapes, and colours all around the place. There were big tents, and the biggest was located at the centre.  
There were also small booths on the sides, and people and yokai were just fantastically having fun!  
Goldfish scooping, handy fireworks, kabuki masks, Geta (high traditional Japanese slippers), costumes, food and drinks were found all around the area.

Rikuo started to walk forward and kept on glancing at the sides.

"M-master?!" Yuki-onna and Aotabo looked at the Master walking. "Where are you going?"

"It's a long way to the centre, to the end." Rikuo looked at them and smirked.

Yuki-onna, Aotabo, Kurotabo and Kubinashi immediately ran to Rikuo. 2 on the left side, 2 on the right.

"Master, what did you mean by 'the end'?" Yuki-onna asked.

"Why does it have to be the centre?" Aotabo also followed.

"You'll see when we get there." Rikuo just said.

UHN...

"Lord Rikuo, why do you think the Hell girl will be here?" Kurotabo asked. "Is there any possibility that she would show herself in public? In front of all of these people?"

"Hmph." Rikuo smiled.

They continued walking.

"I never knew the centre would actually be this far..." Kubinashi commented.

It's been like fifty meters! They have been walking for half an hour, passing by people and seeing new things, passing by games, show, and other stuff that pleases the eyes of the Japs, but it seems they can never reach the centre! You can see the centre, it looks so near, but once you start walking towards it, it's beginning to get farther!

"Stand up, Kubinashi! You shouldn't even be slouching like that in front of the Master!" Kejoro appeared beside Kubinashi and slapped his butt.

"GAH!" Kubinashi shrieked. "Ke-kejoro? What are you doing?!" He screamed, blushing a lot. SOMEONE JUST SLAPPED HIS BUTT!

"Guys..." Rikuo started. Everyone stopped and listened to him. "You can go take a look around everything for a while." He said.

"What? But Lord Rikuo..." Yuki-onna tied to say.

"It's fine, Tsurara." Aotabo grabbed her. "Master, call us if you're going to need some help." He started to walk away with Yuki-onna.

"That's fine." Rikuo disappeared in his Fear.

Aotabo and Yuki-onna were walking together looking around at the wonderful shops and games. Yuki-onna kept on glaring at Aotabo because she was so depressed that she wasn't able to go along with her Master.

"Huh?" Aotabo looked at the frowning woman. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"It WAS SUPPOSED TO BE ME AND MASTER! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO GET ME?!" Yuki-onna kept on pouting.

"You know that the Master is already powerful and enough NOT to have an assistant GO with him anywhere sitting him like a baby!" Aotabo shouted.

"You're just being silly!"

"Say that to my fist!"

"Shut up!"

"You shut up!"

"Gahh, I DON'T CARE ANYMORE!"

Rikuo was sitting at a cherry tree very close to the centre tent. No one can see him, of course. He also looked at the people walking, to look for Enma Ai.

"Where is she?" Rikuo muttered. He sighed.

_Geez, that girl... She can do anything she wants, huh? But... Not only that..._

"_You know what the meaning of hatred is?" Enma Ai asked him._

"_What are you talking about?" Rikuo wondered._

"_That feeling of never becoming free... No matter what happens... For thousands of years... I just kept it all in my heart... Where no one can ever see my HATRED!"_

_She suddenly burst that all out... Poor girl... Keeping all that in her heart for a very long time..._

_Well, at least she became friends with me. That way she could have a memory!_

_But... Then again... Memories... Can be forgotten... Right? What if she has already forgotten about me?_

_After that month... I can feel she won't be able to remember me..._

_Unless...  
_

"_We'll be friends forever, won't we, Rikuo?" Enma Ai asked._

"_Even longer." Rikuo smiled and rested on the girl's lap._

_She asked me if we would always be friends, so that won't make her forget about me!_

_All of those things in the past... don't tell me they're all trash! Don't make fun of me, Ai. 'Cause I WON'T LET YOU GO! DEFINITELY!_

Rikuo's face suddenly became dead serious! He looked like he really wanted to get somebody! That deadly look... His Fear just became stronger!

"Ai..."

**In the village of eternal twilight, Hone-onna and IchimokuRen **heard Rikuo's call for Enma Ai.

"Don't tell me..." IchimokuRen said.

"That couldn't be possible... Can it..?" Hone-onna questioned. "Why is this yokai boy... So..."

STRONG?!

Every servant, every yokai in town, and even Nurarihyon felt Rikuo's strong and overwhelming Fear. They could feel death behind them.

The Hell girl and her assistant Wanyuudou were walking towards the centre tent, where the biggest most badass drums are.

Drums had the sign of the 'Sharingan' or 666 posted in front and 3 men were drumming.

People who were passing by, of course, paused for a while or stopped walking and watched the tournament... Entertainment.

"It sure is nice, isn't it, Mistress?" Wanyuudou commented.

"You think so?" Enma Ai muttered.

"_You know what the meaning of hatred is?" Enma Ai asked him._

"_What are you talking about?" Rikuo wondered._

"_That feeling of never becoming free... No matter what happens... For thousands of years... I just kept it all in my heart... Where no one can ever see my HATRED!"_

_You, a human and a yokai... Can never understand that feeling... If you were a full yokai, you would. But... Unfortunately, you aren't. That's too bad, Rikuo Nura._  
Even if this time it was fate's prank that brought us together to become friends, we were still in the verge of becoming enemies.  
It's no wonder I had doubts about becoming one with you. You and I can never really be what I saw in my sea. You're no longer a part of me.

_And all of those memories will be erased._

"Ai?!" Rikuo suddenly uttered. He was still sitting on the branch of the cherry tree, though. He wanted to go down. He wanted to do it so badly. But, because of hesitation, he couldn't.

_How much do you really like her, human me? _The night Rikuo asked the human Rikuo who was standing in front of him.

_More. I want her to become more than a friend. _Day Rikuo answered.

_But you're too weak. You're nothing to her._

_I know that. That is the reason why you're the one doing all of these things. Make her... Yours._

_I know you know I want her that bad, human me. But now that you've said that, I guess I can share her with you._

_We're only one after all._

_Fine then. I'll do this... For us._

Rikuo smirked as he went down of the cherry tree. He was still far from the Hell girl, but, oh well...

He walked with his Fear dark and wide. The people got chills even though no one's passing by them (they can't see Rikuo. He's just a feeling)

"I'm coming for you, Ai. And I'll make sure you're the one I'm going to return to." Rikuo was drawing close to the girl.

Enma Ai was looking at the drums, when suddenly she felt something drawing close.

She looked at her left. And...


	20. Chapter 20

"Ai?!" Rikuo suddenly uttered. He was still sitting on the cherry tree, though. He wanted to go down. He wanted to do it so badly. But, because of hesitation, he couldn't.

_How much do you really like her, human me? _The night Rikuo asked the human Rikuo who was standing in front of him.

_More. I want her to become more than a friend. _Day Rikuo answered.

_But you're too weak. You're nothing to her._

_I know that. That is the reason why you're the one doing all of these things. Make her... Yours._

_I know you know I want her THAT bad, human me. But now that you've said that, I guess I can share her with you._

_We're only one after all._

_Fine then. I'll do this... For us._

Rikuo smirked as he went down of the cherry tree. He was still miles from the Hell girl, but, oh well...

He walked with his Fear dark and wide. The people got chills even though no one's passing by them (they can't see Rikuo. He's just a feeling)

"I'm coming for you, Ai. And I'll make sure you're the one I'm going to return to." Rikuo was drawing close to the girl.

Enma Ai was looking at the drums, when suddenly she felt something drawing close.

She looked to her left.

And...

* * *

"Huh...?" Enma Ai stared.

Standing there, close to her, was the man who found her true reality and somehow set her free.

But... It was not true.

"Rikuo."

"Ai, come back." Rikuo said.

"What makes you think I'll go with you?" Enma Ai uttered.

"Me." Rikuo smirked.

Enma Ai looked at the taiko(drums) again, the ones with the Sharingan signs. She did not think about it.

"Ai, why did you have to leave?" Rikuo asked.

"No." Enma Ai answered.

"Uh. What?" Rikuo wondered. "Did you run off at your own will?"

Enma Ai nodded. "I thought... I felt my heart move."

Rikuo was surprised. After all of this time, he thought the Hell girl had nothing but coldness and darkness, but she still actually had a human heart.

"Ai..." He muttered.

Enma Ai looked at Rikuo. "This place isn't meant for us." She said as she walked away. Her assistant, Wanyuudou, did not notice her leave because of Rikuo's Fear.

Rikuo followed Enma Ai, and they went up to the mountain off track the festival, where many cherry trees were found.

Enma Ai leaned on the trunk of the tree, looking at the far away festival.

Rikuo stood beside her looking at the same way. Then he looked at Enma Ai.

"Ai. Do Sakazuki with me." Rikuo said.

"Why?"

"I want you to be mine, Ai."

Enma Ai did not react. She shook her head as a sign of denial. "We live in two different worlds. You must already know that."

"Yeah, so what?"

"Sakazuki with you..." Enma Ai began to say, she looked at Rikuo and put her hand on Rikuo's shoulder. "Still won't connect us to be together forever.."

"Uh!" Rikuo uttered. He realized what the girl was trying to say.

Yes... It is true. It is impossible.

The two demons looked at each other deep in the eyes.

Red and red. Serious and serious.

Hot and cold.

Cherry petals flew in between and around them.

As the wind stopped blowing, Enma Ai kissed Rikuo's right cheek.

Rikuo was surprised, his eyes opened wide.

_Good job, Me. I hope you'll be satisfied with that one last kiss._

"Someday, you'll never see me again." Enma Ai said.

"Uh.. Ai?" Rikuo wondered.

"At least... I got to see you... One last time." Enma Ai was able to smile a little.

Rikuo offered his hand to the girl. "I still know the path to you, Ai." He smirked. "And once I get there. I'll get you."

"Maybe." Enma Ai replied. "Thank you."

"Hmph. Ai..." Rikuo uttered.

The 2 demons shook hands.

"I guess I'll have to let go of the doll now, huh? I don't have any choice." Rikuo said.

"Maybe. But.. You might still have a choice." Enma Ai stated.

"Uh-! What's that?!" Rikuo questioned.

"If you really wish to make a contract with me, send someone to Hell. When you die-..." the girl was cut off.

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" Rikuo exclaimed. Enma Ai became silent. "I still need to protect everyone! And that means you too, Ai!"

"Rikuo." Enma Ai cupped Rikuo's face. "It isn't too late..."

Rikuo gasped. "I'm not late...?"

Enma Ai nodded. She wanted to tell Rikuo more, she felt she wanted it, but, if she does, then all of the souls of her beloved will rot in Hell...

"Ai...?" Rikuo wondered. "What's wrong?"

Enma Ai suddenly felt weak and fell, Rikuo catching her. She became unconscious.

"A-Ai?! Ai?!" Rikuo was shocked by the unexpected change of the universe's events. "What happened to you?! Ai?!"


	21. Chapter 21

**HERE'S WHAT HAD HAPPENED:**

"Sakazuki with you..." Enma Ai began to say, she looked at Rikuo and put her hand on Rikuo's shoulder.

Still won't connect us to be together forever.."

"Uh!" Rikuo uttered. He realized what the girl said. Yes... It is true. It is impossible.

The two demons look at each other deep in the eyes.

Red and red. Serious and serious. Hot and cold.

Cherry petals flew in between and around them.

As the wind stopped blowing, Enma Ai kissed Rikuo's right cheek.

Rikuo was surprised, his eyes opened wide.

_Good job, Me. I hope you'll be satisfied with that one last kiss._

"Someday, you'll never see me again." Enma Ai said.

"Uh.. Ai?" Rikuo wondered.

"At least... I got to see you... One last time." Enma Ai was able to smile a little.

Rikuo offered his hand to the girl. "I still know the path to you, Ai." He smirked. "And once I get there. I'll get you."

"Maybe." Enma Ai replied. "Thank you."

"Hmph. Ai..." Rikuo uttered.

The 2 demons shook hands.

"I guess I'll have to let go of the doll now, huh? I don't have any choice." Rikuo said.

"Maybe. But... You might still have a choice." Enma Ai stated.

"Uh-! What's that?!" Rikuo questioned.

"If you really wish to make a contract with me, send someone to Hell. When you die-..." the girl was cut off.

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" Rikuo exclaimed. Enma Ai became silent. "I still need to protect everyone! And that means you too, Ai!"

"Rikuo." Enma Ai cupped Rikuo's face. "It isn't too late... "

Rikuo gasped. "I'm not late...?"

Enma Ai nodded. She wanted to tell Rikuo more, she felt she wanted it, but, if she does, then all of the souls of her beloved will rot in Hell...

"Ai...?" Rikuo wondered. "What's wrong?"

Enma Ai suddenly felt weak and fell, Rikuo catching her. She became unconscious.

"A-Ai?! Ai?!" Rikuo was shocked by the unexpected change of the universe's events.

"What happened to you?! Ai?!"

AND SO... RIKUO CARRIED HER BACK TO THE MANSION.

* * *

_The dark shall set you free... You knew very well that this was going to happen... But you still carried it out, huh?_

_Fool. Do you want to throw your life to the depths of despair with your loved ones? Do you want them to suffer with you, huh?_

_Do you, Enma Ai?_

There was nothing I can do about it.

_Enma Ai, the Hell girl. You know what's right and you know it well. But you still insisted on becoming friends with the Lord of Pandemonium. Are you really that foolish?_

ENMA AI WAS IN THE DARK ABYSS OF HELL, WHERE THE SPIDER, THE KING OF HELL, WAS. AND HE WAS SPINNING WEBS ALL OVER THE WATER... GATHERING SOULS OF THE FORGOTTEN, TREATING MEMORIES OF NOBODY.

Why? Why did you have to revive me?

_Your soul... It was full of hatred for the villagers who had killed you alive. You were so tasty, I was hungry for it._

And why did you not eat me back then?

_I thought I could still use you._

But you were wrong.

_You sacrificed it, didn't you?_

...

_You sacrificed everything for the sake of your friendship. You stopped the time, you stopped the site, and you turned your back on them. Do you think that was alright with them? Did you know that I sacrificed too?_

I am a heartless girl with nothing but despair.

_Don't throw those words back at me, Enma Ai._

There is nothing I can do.

_...  
Enma Ai, you said that you still had a chance back then, didn't you? You somehow trusted that yokai to save you. But... yet again, you were wrong._

I said that to encourage him. I said that to tell him what I had felt and what I had thought. But I knew you would still take it all away.

_Do you even understand what you are saying, Enma Ai?_

Don't throw those words back at me.

_Do you believe in the saying that 'the truth will set you free'? It is a lie, you know. The truth can set you free physically but it can't mentally. It's a half-of-half chance whether or not you die or live and so. Physical is the illusion, it's not the thought._

Do you think I would believe such words after being in a whole lot of lies? I have seen so many people in Hell for the past 600 years, and you still give me those words that are totally wrong.

_Hahahaha... Enma Ai, 'those words are wrong'? So you really have trusted that yokai!_

I never said I trusted him. I was an observer. He kept the doll untouched and hidden, which is why I had to stay with him until he does something to the doll.

_You can't work without one doll, Enma Ai?_

Everyone must be complete. One loss and it is all over.

_You say, Enma Ai. If you really care about those dolls so much then I will substitute you another._

Uh-...!

THE KING OF HELL SUMMONED A BOY IN FRONT OF ENMA AI, WEARING A KIMONO AND HAD A SWORD WITH HIM.

Sen-..!

_Enma Ai. From now on, you must leave that doll in the yokai's care and use this for all eternity. You won't have to go back to that demon anymore._

I-!

"Ai..?!" Rikuo suddenly appeared in front of Enma Ai's eyes. She woke up, feeling a lot of anxiety.

"Ai, are you alright? You suddenly woke up with the thought of killing that it startled me." Rikuo, in his night form said. "Is there something wrong?"

Enma Ai couldn't say a thing. She was staring outside, where the cherry tree was found.

"Ai...?" Rikuo muttered.

_Enma Ai. From now on, you must leave that doll in the yokai's care and use this for all eternity. You won't have to go back to that demon anymore._

"I don't understand." Enma Ai uttered.

"Hmm? Ai?"

Enma Ai tried to stand up, but she still fell in Rikuo's arms.

"Ai? You feel lighter all of a sudden. Did something happen to you?" Rikuo asked.

The 3 servants, Wanyuudou, Hone-onna and IchimokuRen suddenly appeared.

"You fool!" Hone-onna glared at Rikuo. "This is all your fault!"

"What?" Rikuo questioned. "What the hell have I done?!"

"Lord of Pandemonium..." Wanyuudou began. "You might not notice it, but the Mistress has become weaker. It seems as though she need help of her every step."

"What?" Rikuo was puzzled.

"Don't you understand?!" Hone-onna shrieked. "Mistress is..." Tears flowed out from her eyes. "Mistress has 3 days to live."

"What?!" Rikuo was shocked. "What the hell?! What makes you say that?!"

"We were able to sense it from the time she tried to stand up." IchimokuRen said. "You see, yokai boy, the King of Hell decided that he wanted to kill you. But the Mistress here argued with the idea and thought that it would be best to just leave you behind.  
Since you still have me, the doll in your hand and it seems that you won't let go of it, the King of Hell decided that it is time to move on. The Mistress can't work without a missing doll. She needs the 3 of them to be complete. So the King of Hell gave her a substitute in order for her to keep on working."

"See?" Hone-onna said. "This is all your fault."

"But... She said she still had a chance." Rikuo said. "Was it all-...?"

"Lies?" Wanyuudou continued. "Not really. It is true that she still has a chance. However... The King of Hell wanted to take you because you wouldn't let go of the doll, and you were the only demon to do so. The Mistress argued with that decision, and told him that she'll be the one to take things to herself. If she is freed from her job as the Hell girl, then all of the 600 years she had been working as it will eventually come back to her, and make a backlash to her age."

"Her age...?" Rikuo wondered. "Are you okay with this, Ai?" He asked the girl in his arms.

Enma Ai did not say anything.

"What are we going to do then?" Rikuo asked the 3 servants.

"There is already a substitute given, and the Mistress has to get away from you for all eternity." IchimokuRen said.

"So?"

"We must leave." Wanyuudou suggested. "And you, yokai boy, must do something to the doll so the Mistress can continue working."

Rikuo carried Enma Ai in front of him. "Let's go."

As they walked through the halls and into the foyer of the main house, the servants joined them, and walked behind Rikuo.

"What are they doing, yokai boy? Why are they following us?" Hone-onna asked.

"They are my Night Parade of One Hundred Demons." Rikuo said, not looking at the woman.

"Lord Rikuo, where are we going?' the Yuki-onna asked from behind.

"We'll go to the world of everlasting twilight, where Ai lives." Rikuo replied.

"And what will we do there?"

"Hmph." Rikuo smirked. "We'll violate the dead."


	22. Chapter 22

_Enma Ai. From now on, you must leave that doll in the yokai's care and use this for all eternity. You won't have to go back to that demon anymore._

"I don't understand." Enma Ai uttered.

"Ai?! You feel lighter all of a sudden. Did something happen to you?" Rikuo asked.

"You fool!" Hone-onna glared at Rikuo. "This is all your fault!"

"What?" Rikuo questioned. "What the hell have I done?!"

"Lord of Pandemonium..." Wanyuudou began. "You might not notice it, but the Mistress has become weaker. It seems as though she needs help in every step."

"What?" Rikuo was puzzled.

"Don't you understand?!" Hone-onna shrieked. "Mistress is..." Tears flowed out from her eyes. "Mistress has 3 days to live."

"We were able to sense it from the time she tried to stand up." IchimokuRen said. "You see, yokai boy, the King of Hell decided that he wanted to kill you. But the Mistress here argued with the idea and thought that it would be best to just leave you behind. Since you still have me, the doll in your hand and it seems that you won't let go of it, the King of Hell decided that it is time to move on. The Mistress can't work without a missing doll. She needs the 3 of them to be complete. So the King of Hell gave her a substitute in order for her to keep on working."

"See?" Hone-onna said. "This is all your fault."

"But... She said she still had a chance." Rikuo said. "Was it all-...?"

"Lies?" Wanyuudou continued. "Not really. It is true that she still had a chance. However... The King of Hell wanted to take you because you wouldn't let go of the doll, and you were the only demon to do so. The Mistress argued with that decision, and told him that she'll be the one to take things to herself. If she is freed from her job as the Hell girl, then all of the 600 years she had been working as it will eventually come back to her, and make a backlash to her age."

"Her age...?" Rikuo wondered. "Are you okay with this, Ai?" He asked the girl in his arms.

"There is already a substitute given, and the Mistress has to get away from you for all eternity." IchimokuRen said.

"We must leave." Wanyuudou suggested. "And you, yokai boy, must do something to the doll so the Mistress can continue working."

Rikuo carried Enma Ai (bridal style). "Let's go."  
As they walked through the halls and into the foyer of the main house, the servants joined them, and walked behind Rikuo.

"Hmph." Rikuo smirked. "We'll violate the dead."

* * *

**IN THE WORLD OF ETERNAL TWILIGHT:**

Rikuo, carrying Enma Ai; his Night Parade of One Hundred Demons; and the Hell girl's 3 assistants walked towards Enma Ai's 'house'.

As they neared the entrance, Rikuo's fear destroyed the door into pieces.

"Oh, I thought you would come eventually." Said the old lady inside the inner room, spinning thread.

"Old woman.! The Mistress is-..!" Hone-onna tried to exclaim, but was stopped by Wanyuudou.

"The Mistress is hurt." Wanyuudou said.

Ai's grandmother continued on spinning thread. She didn't say anything.

"Hey.." Rikuo muttered. "Is there anything she can do?"

"Grandma..." Ai uttered.

Rikuo and everyone else were surprised by the sudden talk of the Hell girl.

"Ai, are you alright? You don't look healthy, Ai." The Old woman said.

"Defeat..." Enma Ai said.

"Ai, you better fight back."

"Grandma..."

"Ai, fight back... This is not yet the end. There are still many things you need to accomplish. It hasn't been 6000 years... You can still make it. The contract has yet to break, Ai."

"Hey, old lady-!" Rikuo tried to say, but Enma Ai held his face. He looked at her, seemingly lonely. He wondered. "Ai? What's wrong?" He asked.

"Let me go.." Enma Ai whispered.

"Huh?"

"It will be alright. I promise. Just let me go."

Rikuo slowly put Enma Ai down, letting her sit on the floor.

"What are we supposed to do now?" IchimokuRen asked loudly.

"We can't just make the King of Hell appear.!" Wanyuudou said.

"How can we..." Hone-onna said.

"He'll come." The old woman said.

"What?" Everyone said.

"He'll come. He will definitely. Especially if it's Ai. He'll come. For Ai's sake."

"Who will?" Rikuo asked.

The old woman suddenly stopped spinning the thread. Everyone was surprised.

"Old lady.." Hone-onna wondered.

"The Spider." The old woman said.

"The Spider?!" Rikuo questioned. "Is that the King of Hell?!"

"Yokai boy.. The Spider of Hell, or call him Jinmen Gumo, is an oddly-coloured spider with 3 eyes, and was the one who made the Mistress the Hell girl. He holds her loved ones hostage. If the Mistress does not do the task she has been given, The Spider has threatened that her loved ones would wander in darkness for eternity." Wanyuudou explained.

"What a horrible thing to do!" The Yuki-onna exclaimed.

Rikuo was quiet.

After the assistant's explanation, he looked at Enma Ai, who was also looking at him with despair.

He knelt down, facing Enma Ai. He held her shoulders, and kissed her forehead.

"I will... Definitely free you. Even if it costs my soul." Rikuo said, his head on top of Enma Ai's.

"Lord Rikuo..." the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons uttered.

"We must help too!" Kubinashi exclaimed.

"Yeah! Protect Lord Rikuo!" Aotabo followed.

"We'll follow him wherever he goes!" Kurotabo said.

Rikuo, Enma Ai, and the 3 assistants looked at the parade. They were all fired up for a fierce battle.

"Rikuo..." Enma Ai started to say.

Everyone listened to what she was going to say.

"You can't... I can't let someone's life go down there..! You can't..!"

"Ai... Listen to me. A Commander puts his life on the line, right? As long as you can live on, I'll do anything to make that happen." Rikuo saidwith confidence. "Ai, you have to live until I die."

"Rikuo..." Enma Ai uttered. She still couldn't make a smile on her face.

"Rikuo... Is that your name..?" The old woman began.

"Uh- Yeah." Rikuo looked at Ai's grandmother.

The old woman started to spin thread again.

"Tell me exactly... Who you are, Rikuo."

"I am the Young Master of the Nura clan, the great yokai yakuza family of Eastern Japan, Nurarihyon's grandson, Rikuo Nura." Rikuo said.

"He is the Lord of Pandemonium, and the Third Heir to the throne of the Supreme Commander!" Yuki-onna added.

Everyone smiled, and was proud of Rikuo.

"Oh, the Lord of Pandemonium, eh?" the old woman said, impressed. "I am very glad for you, Ai. You made a wonderful team to help you.. And it's even the Lord of Pandemonium.."

"Grandma..." Enma Ai uttered. "Yes.." she nodded.

Rikuo stood up and looked at the demons behind him who were ready to fight.

"Alright, you lot. We're going to battle. Line up behind my back and follow!" Rikuo said.

YEEEAAAHH!

_Ai... No matter what happens... I'll definitely free you. I'll save you, Ai. Even if it's the last thing I do._

**EVERYONE IS READY TO BATTLE! RIKUO AND HIS NIGHT PARADE OF ONE HUNDRED DEMONS, AND EVEN THE 3 ASSISTANTS SHALL FOLLOW!**

**WHAT WOULD BE THE RESULT?**

**THE FIGHT SHALL BE IN HELL, WHERE AI'S GRANDMOTHER SHALL TAKE THEM TO.**

**THE FIRE HAS JUST BEGUN!**


	23. Chapter 23

Enma Ai's grandmother was rowing the ferryboat to Hell. In it were Rikuo, his Night Parade, and the 3 assistants. Meanwhile, Enma Ai was resting back in the house.

The whole place was dark, and voices of the dead can be heard from under the water. They were screaming with pain, hatred and despair.

Rikuo and his Night Parade kept on looking around, terrified and curious about this whole world known as Hell.

"Wha-what is this?" Yuki-onna asked.

"This is Hell." Kurotabo replied.

"Oh my gah. Everything in here is so scary!" the little yokais said.

"Lord Rikuo, must we fight in here? It seems there is no place for a battlefield to be somewhere here." Kubinashi said.

"No. There IS something here. That's what old woman said." Rikuo said, pointing at Enma Ai's grandmother.

"Uh- Right."

"Lord Rikuo, I don't think this is such a good idea." Aotabo said.

"Why is that?" Yuki-onna questioned.

"Well, if you look down, it seems like we're becoming really heavy."

"WHAT?!"

Everyone looked down, and became SO TERRIFIED ABOUT WHAT'S THERE.

The black sea wasn't really as black as it seems. It seems as though it's darker than black, but with a mixture of red and black...

Red, the colour of blood red... And hundreds of souls were grabbing onto the ferryboat.

The DEAD were black and opaque, but they were as dark as they seemed. They were trying to take whatever was in that boat.

"Oh my..." Kejoro muttered.

All of the yokais of the Night Parade were shocked, scared. They were surrounded by an even stronger Fear, something they can never be compared to.

"You don't have to worry yourselves." Enma Ai's grandmother began to say.

Everyone looked at the old woman who was no more than a silhouette.

"Old woman..?" Rikuo uttered.

"Why did you say something like that?" Yuki-onna questioned.

"You are all yokai, are you not? That must mean that you all have something that the dead doesn't have, right?" Enma Ai's grandmother said.

"But... Some of us are dead, though..." Kejoro said, covering her mouth with her kimono sleeve, making a 'not-very-sure-of-what-you're-saying' face, with red lines drawn across her face.

"Yes, you are. But, you came back to life, did you not?" Enma Ai's grandmother asked. "Ai is also the same, in a different way. She went to Hell, not to Life."

"What does that mean?!" Rikuo questioned.

"Master..." The rest of the yokai muttered.

"I know she came from Hell, but... How come she doesn't deserve to live?!"

"Yokai boy, you are still indeed very young to understand things like her history." Enma Ai's grandmother said.

"What do you mean 'I'm too young'?! I am how old I am! And I definitely understand everything about her!" Rikuo protested, trying to grab the grandmother's arms, but his subordinates held him back.

"If you really do, then why is she not with you, yokai boy?" Enma Ai's grandmother asked.

Rikuo stopped complaining and thought about the question.

_She's gone... Because..._

"You don't know the reason?" Enma Ai's grandmother said.

"Master, please stop this..!" Yuki-onna and Kejoro said.

Rikuo panted. He became somehow tired from struggling to escape his subordinates' grips, but they let him go.

"Ai is..." Rikuo muttered. "Ai is gone... Because... It's because of ME!" He shouted at the old woman. "I am the reason she's gone. Because I didn't let go of her doll, the King of Hell decided to take her away from me instead, and not come after the doll I was holding. That King of Hell is a bastard, I'll tell you that. He's stupid as Hell himself!" He proclaimed.

"Lord Rikuo..." Everyone uttered.

Enma Ai's grandmother nodded. "Indeed, he is. But... Yokai boy, you must not exaggerate. You can still save her. As long as there is power in your heart, as long as you have a pure love for her, you can do anything to save her, and even defeat the King of Hell." She said.

A few moments later, the boat stopped at the last level of a long and high-steeped stairs, like the ones people climb whenever they go to a holy shrine.

The atmosphere was dark, but it somehow had a some kind of dark violet highlights, with the _Inari style- torii _at the beginning of the steps, large and red.

There were dark violet lanterns located at the sides of each stair step, on top of 3 feet cemented cylinders with handprints and the sign of the convent carved on each one.

Rikuo and his Night Parade of One Hundred Demons stepped out of the boat.

"You be careful now, yokai boy." Enma Ai's grandmother said, staying at the boat, sitting.

Rikuo nodded. "I'll save Ai. Then we'll have sakazuki."

The boat and Enma Ai's grandmother suddenly was burned and was turned into ashes, then it disappeared.

"Master, what are we going to do now?" Yuki-onna asked.

"What are we waiting for, Master?!" Aotabo shrieked. "Let's destroy these stairs and get to the fighting!"

"Wait a minute, Ao." Rikuo said. "We're not yet even sure where to go or what's gonna happen to us in here."

"Keep it down, Ao!" Yuki-onna followed. Aotabo groaned.

"Then, what are we to do, Lord Rikuo?" Kurotabo asked.

"We head up." Rikuo replied. "Let's go." He started to step into the stairs and walk going up.

"Fine." Aotabo uttered.

"Everyone, let's go!" Kejoro yelled at everyone behind her, signalling them with raising her closed fist.

"YEEEAHHHH!" Everyone shouted as they followed Rikuo to go up.


	24. Memories of Nobody

"_I'll save Ai. Then we'll have sakazuki."_

* * *

"_We'll be friends forever, won't we, Rikuo?"_

"_Even longer."_

* * *

_Everything... Everything... What can I think about everything?_

"_You are from now on Enma Ai, the Hell girl."_

"_Hell... girl..."_

_So much time has passed since then. But... It seemed like the moment just drifted away, making all the time disappear in just a blink of an eye._

"_People like you don't deserve to live. You deserve to DIE!"_

_Why can't anyone accept me? Why can't anyone accept me for who I am?_

"_When will the cherry blossom flowers unfold?__  
When will they unfold in the mountain village?_  
_When will the cherry blossom flowers be fragrant?__  
When the laughing child of seven plays.  
When will the cherry blossom flowers dance?__  
When the singing child of seven sleeps.  
When will the cherry blossom flowers decay?___  
When the dead child of seven rises."

"_You are tied in a red thread together with me, Ai."_

"_It would become red threads of destiny, then."_

"_Keep that name, Nura Ai."_

"_I won't."_

_AS LONG AS YOU'RE BESIDE ME, EVERYTHING... AND I MEAN EVERYTHING... WILL BE BRILLIANT BECAUSE OF YOU._

_Rikuo Nura – The Lord of Pandemonium._

_Enma Ai – The Hell girl_

"Ai, are you awake now, Ai?" A very familiar voice. The voice was heavy, at the same time it was dark. It was a man's voice. More like a grandfather's voice than a young man's. And she sure knows who the Hell it was.

Her eyes remain closed. She didn't want to see the one calling her. She tried her best to keep her silence. She didn't want to say anything from the pain she is suffering in her heart right now.

"What are you doing, Ai?" the voice asked. "Say something, Ai. Tell me. What is your problem?"

"_I don't have a problem."_ Enma Ai thought. She didn't open her mouth.

"Ai, what's wrong?" Another voice said. The voice was cute, like from a little girl. Yes. This kid's name is _Kikuri_.

In the previous years of Enma Ai being the Hell girl, Kikuri has also been accompanying Enma Ai aside from her 3 other assistants.

"Kikuri?" Enma Ai muttered. She finally opened her eyes to look for the child, only to find herself in a world of darkness.

She opened her eyes for the reason that she somehow took a liking to the little girl who has always been accompanying her. She would take care of the girl like her younger sister.

_What's wrong now, Ai?_

The world Enma Ai was in was dark, yet it had an indigo atmosphere.

She looked up to the sky and saw a cherry blossom-shaped hole, where the dark purple light passed and reflected through the place. It was going round and round slowly, like an exhaust fan. A cherry blossom-shaped exhaust fan.

"Where... Is this...?" Enma Ai muttered to herself.

Her clothes have been changed into a black kimono with a pink top just the part above the gold sash; designed with different types of beautiful flowers – like peony, chrysanthemum, and cherry blossoms – and different colours of paper balls; and imprinted on her sleeves were butterflies the colour white.

The little girl, Kikuri chuckled and appeared in front of Enma Ai. "Do you like the new clothes?" She asked. She was standing on grass and was looking up at the Hell girl.

Enma Ai stared at the little girl.

Kikuri chuckled again. She smiled at Enma Ai.

"How did I..." Enma Ai uttered in curiosity. She looked around.

Why the heck is she there? How did she get there? Was she teleported or something?

"I brought you here, did you know that?" Kikuri said. "You were asleep, and the old lady just stayed in her room."

_Kikuri..._

Enma Ai still wasn't sure where she was, or how Kikuri carried her. But maybe, just maybe... She carried her using the powers of the King of Hell, or the Spider of Hell. The only thing she didn't know about is her position right now.

Kikuri was below her. The little girl was looking up at her - this she didn't know why.

She felt the soft petals of a certain type of flower on the ground, and she noticed that there were pink petals falling down.

Yeah, that's right, _cherry blossoms_. She could feel cherry blossoms flowing all around her.

What was more than it was the feeling of being gripped around her wrist. It didn't really hurt, but it was a soft grip.

Now she realized.

She was tied up to a cherry tree. She wasn't tied up in heavy ropes or nylon or plastic ties – instead, in _vines of the beautiful cherry blossoms_.

"Feeling better now, Ai?" the King of Hell asked, still only his voice being heard.

Enma Ai didn't speak.

_What are these?_

"Hell girl." Kikuri called.

Enma Ai looked at the child.

"Someone is coming, you know." The child stated. "Maybe he has come to die." She smiled.

Enma Ai was surprised. She was surprised by the fact that she quite knew this man, but... Who is he? Could she have forgotten?

OH NO.

"I have nothing to do with you anymore..." Enma Ai muttered. She tried to pull herself from the vines, but it held her tight.

"What are you saying, Hell girl?" Kikuri wondered. "You should stop struggling. It's useless. You can no longer save yourself.

"Hey, did you know?" Kikuri suddenly floated in the air, to the point of being on the same height as Enma Ai. She caressed her hair and patted her head. "Hey, did you know? You've been reverted back to your human form. And you might not remember that man anymore..."

Enma Ai's eyes opened wide. She was shocked.

_No way... This cannot be..._

The memories of the man she has spent time with for quite some time... _Is now gone?_

What is left of her, then? Huh?

* * *

Memories of Nobody

Rikuo and his night parade were climbing up the neverending stairs, and man, it's so long! There's no way they can ever finish this!

"Master, are we there yet?" the little yokai kids asked.

"Not to panic now, children." Kejoro said.

"Geez... Are we going to take forever to get to the top, Master?" Yuki-onna asked.

"You don't really have to complain, Tsurara." Rikuo replied. "This staircase... More like a road to a temple... Is called _The Eternal Stairway_."

Yuki-onna gasped, but remained calm. "The Eternal Staircase, you say? Then... Does that mean that we can never get out of this place?"

"Not necessarily." Kurotabo answered her question. "Even if we try to go back, our past has disappeared. We can no longer go back. We can only continue to go up."

"Go only up..?"

"Yeah."

"Save the questions for later, Tsurara." Rikuo commanded. "We must concentrate our Fear to get to the end of this faster."

"Oh. Yes!" Yuki-onna said.

0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0

Kikuri was staring at Enma Ai from the ground. She was sleeping. Or maybe just closing her eyes trying to recall the memories of nobody.

"Hell girl?" Kikuri called.

"You must not disturb." The King of Hell's voice said. "She is trying to remember what had happened to her in the past."

Kikuri shrugged, but left a smile on her face.

_You messed up, Ai. It's all your fault. This is all your fault. You shouldn't have fallen in love with that yokai. Not that you even remember him anymore. Nura, Rikuo._

Enma Ai's eyes opened. She looked at Kikuri.

"Hell girl?" Kikuri wondered. "What's wrong?"

"You just said it..." Enma Ai muttered.

"What?"

"You just said it..."

"I said what?"

"He... Him."

"What about him?"

"Ri-...riku-..."

Kikuri felt something wrong. She became intrigued at how the Hell girl was trying to get her memories back.

"You can't do this, Hell girl." Kikuri said.

"I will still..." Enma Ai murmured. "I won't lose..."

"If you force yourself, you will die, Hell girl. And maybe you won't get to see _him_ before you do."

"Why won't I? He could go to Hell."

"That isn't true. You still don't know."

"Why are you saying that?"

"The only thing you could remember now is your family and your fate, Hell girl. If you're destined to become like this, you can only accept it."

"No!"

"Uh-. What? No?"

"My family will still rot in Hell. Because I can never continue being like this. Even if I die right now, even if I am torn limb from limb, even if I am tossed to the lake of fire, even if I never get a chance to go to paradise, I still won't lose."

Kikuri remained silent.

"Why are you being persistent, Ai?" The King of Hell asked.

"It's impossible." Kikuri said. "She will always believe in that thought. And in the past of that yokai." A tear dripped from her eye.

"Are you mad, Ai?" The King of Hell wondered.

"No! You are wrong!" Enma Ai shrieked.

"You cannot remember his name anymore. It's usele-"

"That's not it! I still know him!" The King of Hell was cut off by Enma Ai's resolve. "Once our threads have been tied, there is no way it can be cut or damaged! Even if you try to cut it, the proof that we became together still stays there and it will stay forever long!"

There was a moment of silence.

Enma Ai was silently panting; surprised by the fact she had burst out the things she should have said a long time ago. But, in that time, it was impossible.

"Hmph. If that is how you see it, what about not seeing him anymore?" The King of Hell started. "You have changed, Ai."

"What's wrong with it?" Enma Ai asked.

"You aren't afraid anymore."

Enma Ai blinked her eyes twice in consideration of the statement he made.

_Yes. He is right. He is definitely right. I have become unafraid of certain things to the point of sacrificing myself for something every important._

"Afraid? Heeheehee!" Kikuri laughed and twirled around the cherry tree. "The Hell girl is no longer afraid! Teehee!"

"You have been a fragile girl, Ai. But now it seems that you're no longer the girl who once worked for me."

"Does it even matter anymore? I don't care anymore!"

The King of Hell chuckled, still his voice the only thing that can be heard. "Hell girl, Enma Ai."

Kikuri stopped dancing in front of Enma Ai and looked her at the face. She smiled at her. "He really is coming. But, you have memories of nobody. Teehee!"

Enma Ai's eyes opened wide as she saw something appear from far behind Kikuri.

It looked like it's a group of people's shadows, or something like that, walking toward her. She could see a figure holding his sword on his shoulder, having long hair that was on the side of his head, and she could see dark auras that seemed familiar.

The Fear.

However, it was too late. Enma Ai shut her eyes before the group could even get to her.

_It's gone. It's all gone._

_Rikuo... Nura._

"Ai!?" Rikuo called, approaching the cherry tree.

Kikuri had disappeared.

Rikuo and his Night Parade of One Hundred Demons have finally arrived, and they surrounded the cherry tree, where the Hell girl was tied to.

Everyone stared at the Hell girl, surprised.

"Oh no, what happened to her?" Kejoro asked.

"Didn't the Master leave her at the house?" Yuki-onna followed.

"Someone must have taken her." Kurotabo said.

"Master?" Everyone wondered.

Rikuo was standing in front of Enma Ai's tied sleeping body. His aura grew and grew and his face darkened.

His heart was pounding in madness, excited about the murder.

He freaking wants to KILL WHOEVER WHO DID THIS TO HER!

In less than a second, Rikuo slashed all of the vines in one strike, letting Enma Ai fall into Rikuo's arms.

Everyone gasped.

"Ai? Are you alright? Ai?!" Rikuo tried to wake the girl up. He clutched her hand, desperate to know answers about what had happened to her.

_I could hear you._

_Even though I could, I still don't know who you are._

"I'm so sorry I have forgotten." Enma Ai whispered.

Rikuo heard that.

"Ai?" He wondered.

Enma Ai slowly opened her eyes. She could see Rikuo in front of her, and his Night Parade behind and all around him. They were all looking at her.

"Ai?" Rikuo called.

As Enma Ai blinked her eyes, she suddenly saw a ray of black light coming down on them.

OH NO. She knew it was danger.

"GET OUT!" Enma Ai jumped and pushed Rikuo, causing him to tumble upon his parade, making them all fall together away from the Hell girl.

A BIG BANG WAS MADE.

When the ray hit the ground, it made a flash, and everything exploded.

Rikuo and his parade were protected by Yuki-onna's ice barrier.

All of them were shocked of what just happened.

"Ai?!" Rikuo yelled.

There was a loud laugh of a man. The King of Hell.

The Night Parade gasped in shocked.

"OH NO!" They all yelled.

They looked at the place where the Hell girl laid down, their mouths wide open, as she was nowhere to be found anymore.

_She disappeared._

"Master..." Yuki-onna uttered to Rikuo who was sitting beside her. "What did just happen to the Hell girl?"

"Tch! I don't give a shit about that!" Rikuo said, and stood up. He walked towards the place where Enma Ai was hit and disappeared.

He looked up, only to find a wide and everlasting cobwebs and a huge black 8-purple-colored-eyed spider looking down at them.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO AI?!"

The spider moved a string of web and cut it to Rikuo's direction, so Rikuo could hold onto it and be pulled.

"You know it is best to let her go." Said the spider.

Rikuo was hanging in front of him, the spider was hanging upside down.

They looked at each other, eye to eye.

"What the hell do you know?!" Rikuo said. He held his sword tightly on the side.

"I have been watching for a long time, Lord of Pandemonium. Did you know from that time that her eyes were also my eyes?"

"What?!"

"Do you know the connection between you and yourself?"

"What are you talking about!?"

"Just like she said, even if she dies, your connection with her won't disappear, and her connection with you won't disappear. You have been tied together by the red threads of destiny, have you not? The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be. "

> _I knew I loved you before I met you_ _   
_ _I think I dreamed you into life_ _   
_ _I knew I loved you before I met you_ _   
_ _I have been waiting all my life_

"Where is Ai? Tell me where she is!" Rikuo demanded.

"Lord of Pandemonium!" A squeaky girl's voice was heard from below. Rikuo looked down.

It was Kikuri. She was running in circles, just around Rikuo.

"Huh?" Rikuo wondered.

"The Hell girl is back in your world! She is back! She is back, teehee!" Kikuri said and giggled and squealed.

"WHAT?!"

Rikuo tried to cut the string of web, however, the spider stopped him by pinning him to a space of intersecting webs.

"What the-?" Rikuo was shocked.

"You can only prove to me what you really are worth to be, Lord of Pandemonium."

Rikuo growled, his face really mad. He pulled his sword and cut the webs in 2 strikes, and jumped to the spider with the attempt to cut it into half. "Get away!"

Kikuri giggled, and suddenly released some webs from her arms and tied Rikuo up, to stop him from slicing the spider. "Got ya, Lord of Pandemonium, teehee!"

"Huh?!" Rikuo looked at the girl.

"Lord Rikuo!" The Night Parade shrieked and ran to the little girl, preparing for battle. Kikuri looked at the group and smiled at them.

Rikuo, raising his sword, was suddenly covered by the webs. He was covered all over, and he closed his eyes.

"_Go to her, Lord of Pandemonium. Teehee!"_

As Rikuo opened his eyes, he was surprised to see where he was teleported to.

It was a misty and dark afternoon.

He was in a grassy field, with a river on the side.

"Where am I?" Rikuo mumbled.

He sighed. He didn't expect to hear another breath after him. His eyes opened wide in surprise as he was a girl lying down behind him wearing a white kimono.

She looked like she fell on the ground with her face on the ground.

"No way..." Rikuo said in shock. "Ai!" He quickly crawled to the girl and pulled her up to sit. "Ai, are you alright!?"

Enma Ai was closing her eyes.

Rikuo shook her and tried to wake the girl up, but she didn't.

"Ai, what's wrong with you?"

Enma Ai's mouth opened slowly. "I'm so sorry..." She muttered.

"What?"

"I don't know who you are... I'm sorry."

"Huh? What are you saying, Ai? You don't know me? It's Rikuo, remember?"

Enma Ai gave a very soft sigh.

"Ai?" Rikuo questioned. "Hey, what are you saying? What's wrong with you?"

"All she can do is to look at you, yokai boy." A new voice came into picture. It was Hone-onna's voice. It could be heard, but she couldn't be seen.

"What?" Rikuo asked.

"Her memories have been erased by the King of Hell, so that you won't distract her from work again, and she could continue her work as the Hell girl." Wanyuudou's voice.

"Memories?!" Rikuo asked, shocked.

_So then, you mean to tell me... She is gone?_

_She won't know me anymore?_

_She has memories of nobody?_


	25. The Path Left By a Soul

**September 13 – Friday**

"We have to end his problem right here, right now." He says as he sips his cup of tea.

"But Supreme Commander, what are we going to do?"

"We really shouldn't bother about the Third Heir's feelings about this."

"Supreme Commander, what if the Third Heir would-"

Nurarihyon glared at the subclans' leaders. "This is my final decision. We have to save Rikuo. The Hell girl won't matter to us. It is Rikuo who does. First love is only foolishness cause by curiosity. We shall do what we must do. Understood?"

They all bowed down to the Supreme Commander.

* * *

Rikuo, together with Enma Ai, was sitting on a bench found near a shrine just a few meters away from the river. The atmosphere was so misty and dark.

Enma Ai was leaning on Rikuo's shoulder, sleeping, while Rikuo looked around the place, wondering how he could get out.

_Ai..._

Should this really be their end?

Should it be like this? Her not remembering him? But him still in love with her?

"Ai?" He tried to whisper her name to her ear.

Enma Ai hesitated to wake up, but she slowly opened her eyes to look at the yokai sitting close beside her. "Huh?"

Rikuo smiled. "Are you alright?"

Enma Ai tried to look away, but she was entranced by Rikuo's eyes and his strong Fear.

She stared at him right in the eyes. She slowly nodded.

"Great." Rikuo said, patting Enma Ai's head.

Enma Ai closed her eyes for a second, and when Rikuo stopped patting her head, she opened her eyes.

She still couldn't grasp his memory, which was why she wasn't reacting to anything.

She hesitated to say anything at first, but she said something anyway, "Who... Who are you?"

Rikuo's brows twitched.

He's really pissed off of this, of what's happening, of her. He stared at the ground, frowning. Then he looked at the girl. "Why? Why can't you...Why can't you remember me? After all that's happened, you have forgotten about me?"

Enma Ai tilted her head, curious. "Forgotten...?"

Rikuo shrugged his shoulders, and bent lower. His face darkened. "You really don't know me now, huh?" He said with a little smirk. He seriously couldn't believe it.

Enma Ai wondered a little bit more, but, instead of leaving the subject, she patted Rikuo's head, and said with a little smile, "Maybe I'm just a little bit forgetful. But I'm sure I'll remember you another time."

Rikuo looked at her, surprised. He smiled anyways. He smiled, for the reason that he for the first time saw Enma Ai, the Hell girl, smile, after a few million years with no emotion.

This time, without her memories, she smiled. He felt relieved to see her that way anyways.

Rikuo held the hand that was patting him. Enma Ai looked at him.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Give me an answer. If you get your memories back, will we see each other again?"

Enma Ai was left quiet. She didn't know what to answer.

"I think that's enough for today." A voice said from behind Rikuo.

Rikuo looked back to see his grandfather, Nurarihyon, together with the sub clans' leaders.

"Old man?" Rikuo questioned, shocked. "What are you doing here?" He stood up and approached the superiors.

"We came to get you and the Hell girl, Rikuo." Zen said.

"Zen?" Rikuo asked.

"Rikuo," Nurarihyon started. "Your battle here has ended. You mustn't bother with any more than this."

"What?!" Rikuo questioned. "What do you mean?"

"I have talked with him, through the hotline to Hell." Nurarihyon continued.  
  
We made a deal, that if the Hell girl were to stay here, she shall remain in that form, but she shall never remember you and everything else related to the yokai world.  
Yokai are demons, after all. You can't send them to Hell, because they are already there. They are destined to. Furthermore, she shall stay in this human world, and never bother our world, the world of demons. Do you understand, Rikuo? You have to decide right now.  
If you want her to remain here with you, she will die eventually, since she has been converted back to her human form, in which all the age would come backlashing at her, and she will die sooner or later. But if you want her to live, she has to go. Forget about not being with her. It's what you want to do for her."

Rikuo remained silent. He can't decide what to do.

If he lets her go, what's going to happen to his love?

If he keeps her, she would die, and what will happen to his feelings?

He's got the same answer. _**He would still mourn. He would still be left in sadness and in pain**_.

What the hell is the use?

Everything would still turn out the way he didn't want. But for what?

_For the girl he loves so much._

"Rikuo," Gyuki called.

Rikuo looked at him.

"Even though we've changed and we're all finding our own place in the world, we all know that when the tears fall or the smile spreads across our face, we'll come to each other because no matter where this crazy world takes us, nothing will ever change so much to the point where we're not all still friends."

Rikuo's eyes opened wide. "Gyuki..?"

"Choose one, Third Heir. Dead or alive?"

Rikuo clenched his fists and glanced at Enma Ai back at the bench.

_Dead or alive? Dead or alive? Which is the right choice?_

"_Being strong doesn't always mean you have to fight the battle. True strength is being adult enough to walk away from the nonsense with your head held high," Enma Ai once said._

"_Ai..."_

Rikuo took a deep breath, and then he approached the Hell girl.

She looked at him with curiosity, "What's wrong?" She asked.

Rikuo grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him, hugging her. "Ai... You will begin to heal when you let go of past hurts, forgive those who have wronged you and learn to forgive yourself for your mistakes. Do you understand?"

Nurarihyon and his subordinates watched from behind.

"Umm," Enma Ai murmured. "I..."

Rikuo looked at her right in the eyes. He was concentrating to kind of at least have a recap of all their memories, and everything that had happened to them during the time they were friends.

Everything, and I mean everything was a blur...

_Why is it like that? It's like... Just by thinking about it, something is forcing it to fade, so and so._

"Rikuo," Nurarihyon called.

"Hey old man," Rikuo started to mumble. "Do you think she could have sakazuki with me?"

Nurarihyon grunted, and sighed. He closed his eyes and thought about it. Unfortunately, nothing came up. He looked at Rikuo with a serious face and said, "That isn't possible."

Rikuo's eyes opened wide, shocked. He looked back at his grandfather.

"Rikuo, that isn't possible. Having her do sakazuki with you would only make things worse, and the King of Hell could make fates and destinies crumble to darkness, especially yours, Rikuo. You know what would happen then, right?"

Rikuo closed his eyes in consideration, and he sighed.

"However..." Nurarihyon said, "It is your choice. If you will make her do it, then you're going to have to fight this battle. Think it like the battle with Nue. You overdid it, didn't you? This time, it is your encounter with the Hell girl."

"Old man..." Rikuo uttered, and smirked. "Hmph. Just shut up."

Rikuo carried Enma Ai and faced the Superiors. "Let's go back home."

Nurarihyon smiled together with everyone else. "Yeah."

"Wait a minute, Lord Rikuo," Karasu tengu interrupted, "Do you know where your Night Parade is?"

Rikuo tightened his grip on Enma Ai's shoulder, "No, but they should be fine. I feel as though... I'm equipping them anyway."

"Uh, Right."

They all walked into the thick mist, and ended up in the entrance of **THE NURA MANSION IN THE MIDDLE OF UKIYOE TOWN**. It was an early night.

"We shall have a meeting at once," Gyuki said to the others.

"To the meeting room!" Karasu tengu said.

Everyone, except Nurarihyon and Rikuo with Enma Ai, went in.

"Rikuo," Nurarihyon called. "Take care of the Hell girl. Then go change your clothes before you get into the meeting room. We shall talk about this matter right away to prevent making matters worse. Understood?"

Rikuo nodded, and Nurarihyon went in.

"Where are we?" Enma Ai asked Rikuo.

Rikuo smiled at her, "We're home." And then they went in.

* * *

**NURA CLAN MEETING ROOM – 7 PM**

Every yokai leader of the Nura clan's sub clans gathered, together with the Supreme Commander, Nurarihyon.

Rikuo Nura, the Third Heir of the Nura clan, entered the room a while later and sat beside his grandfather.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Nurarihyon said.

The atmosphere in the room was foggy; specifically, it was the Fear that was making the place look foggy.

"We have started this game of ours, entering the hotline to Hell, and bringing the Hell girl in," Nurarihyon started. "Our curiosity led us to become like this, and make things happen like this; all because of our fear that someone might send one of us to Hell, even though we are yokai. Nonetheless, we were able to stop this cycle of hated for a very short period of time because of HIM. He was able to do things, and was able to make contact with the Hell girl.

"Our worries disappeared, but then, this happens. Greater danger rose, and now we're all going to be dead if we don't do something. That is the reason why I have made a deal with the King of Hell. His war of Fear with us is no longer going on, but at the same time it has not yet ended. Things and events like thess tend to make us falter, but we shall not. Considering that the Hell girl is still with us, we shall take her hostage, and bring the King of Hell to us. We shall not fight, however. Something else will happen, and that is something we still don't know... For now.

"Battle ignition, I shall name it. Perhaps this is how we shall do things. This is how we restore every single thing we lost – from the time we entered the website, until we took the souls' lives through battles. His Night Parade of One Hundred Demons has been taken hostage, too, by the King of Hell. Since he has done that, we shall also take what is precious to him as one. Now you all listen to him. As to he will make the decision. This case is not yet closed. Not until we have defeated what is wrong. Starting this point on, He shall be in charge. He shall lead you from what is wrong to what is right. He shall take care of the rest. And all of you must follow his command. Understood?"

The leaders didn't make a noise, but they nodded.

Rikuo inhaled a little bit, and, with a very serious face, started to say, "As the Nura clan's Third Heir, I take it that I am the one responsible for all of the things that had happened. We were only supposed to communicate to the Hell girl by means of mouth, but it seemed that I wasn't able to control myself. I made a silent friendship with her, and I wanted her more than anything. I considered her the most important person in the world to me, and I promised her that we would be friends forever. I hoped that we would have sakazuki, to make our bonds last long – long enough to the point that she won't be the Hell girl anymore. However, that dream of mine ended so suddenly, and I didn't know what to do. Sakazuki was a no, and she was brought back to Hell and was threatened by the King of Hell, therefore making her sacrifice herself for my benefit.

"I thought we were going to fine, but that was a lie. It was all a lie. Killing wasn't the solution, also. It was giving somebody up. And being pissed off was the only thing I could do. This time, she is with me. And I'm relieved that she is. The old man gave me a choice, but those choices still made me pissed, because those choices were - whether she'd be dead or alive. If she were to stay with me, she'd die eventually due to old age; but if she were to leave me, then she'd stay alive and forget me. These are all useless. They are damnation, and I swear to not tolerate that.

"It shall be me who will take care of this matter. The Hell girl and the Lord of Pandemonium shall deal with this event together, and my Nura clan won't have to worry about anything else. I shall do the talking, old man... Everyone... Understood?"

Everyone "uhh...oohhh", but bowed.

Later, Rikuo returned to his bedroom, where Enma Ai was resting. He sat beside her and faced the cherry tree outside. Cherry petals were flying all over the place, and it was chilly.

"Ai?" Rikuo called.

Enma Ai slowly opened her eyes, and saw Rikuo sitting beside her, looking at her. "What is it?" She asked.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine."

"Ai,"

"What?"

"Do you know the Lord of Pandemonium?"

Enma Ai's eyes opened wide. She wondered. "The Lord of Pandemonium?"

Rikuo nodded. Enma Ai tried to think, but she shook her head. Rikuo sighed.

"I see," He said. "Let me tell you something about him. Wanna hear it?"

Enma Ai wondered again, but nodded anyways.

"A girl known as the Hell girl has lost her memories. The reason why she is like this is because of the King of Hell, who at first made her the Hell girl; and since she broke some stupid law and was not able to continue the cycle of hatred for some time, he decided to take her away, and make her a human being with memories of nobody. Do you know? That girl is very beautiful... And she looks just like you, Ai."

Enma Ai blushed a little, looking away. "The Hell girl?"

"Yeah. However..." Rikuo stood up and walked towards the outside, leaning on the wide open door. He looked at the girl who sat up. "The Lord of Pandemonium will save her, for sure." He smirked.

Enma Ai's face lit up a little, but at the same time wondering what he is talking about. "If you save her... Then I'm sure she would really love you."

Rikuo clenched his fist in regret – regret that he has decided to do the right thing for her. He approached the girl and carried her then went outside, to the foyer of the Nura mansion.

Everyone was waiting outside. As Rikuo and Enma Ai arrived, they all smiled at the two.

"Lord Rikuo!" Yuki-onna waved her hand.

"Lord Rikuo, the King of Hell – No, a little girl to be exact, shall come and take her." Karasu tengu said.

Rikuo nodded.

"Have you decided to do what's right, Rikuo?" Nurarihyon asked.

"Yeah," Rikuo replied. "This is it."

The sky was filled with many violet clouds, making it look like Fear invading the Heavens. There were bolts of lightning, and the wind blew hard. Looking above, they all waited for that/ it to arrive. Enma Ai gripped on Rikuo's shoulders, scared.

"What's wrong, Ai?" Rikuo asked.

Enma Ai shook her head, "It's nothing."

A few moments later, the Hell girl's 3 assistants – Wanyuudou, Hone-onna and IchimokuRen – appeared at the gate. The three approached Rikuo.

"Mistress!" Hone-onna yelled in relief. "I'm so happy you're here, alive!"

Enma Ai looked at the woman – she didn't know her. "I'm sorry... I don't know who you are."

Hone-onna stopped, and took a deep breath before looking at the Hell girl again. She knew. "I know," she said.

"Where is the King?" Rikuo asked.

"He – I mean she is on her way," Wanyuudou replied.

"I see," Rikuo said, and he looked at Enma Ai, "Ai, are you ready for this?"

Enma Ai looked at Rikuo with her bright red eyes. Something is DIFFERENT. Could it be that ever since she became like this, she has lifted her spirits up, enlightened and became more refreshed than from the way she was when she's Hell girl? That might be possible.

She nodded a little bit, however. She's still unsure. She's full of doubt. But Hell that anyways.

"Ai, even if you turn back into the way you were, don't you forget even just a little piece of me... Okay?" Rikuo uttered, his face darkening.

Enma Ai wondered again, what is he saying? But... She nodded a little bit anyways, "A little piece of you... Is all it takes to remember you?"

Rikuo gasped and realized what she was saying. Is this for real? He has never heard her speak like this for long now, since the time she transformed into a human. He smiled, "Ai.."

Unexpectedly, the winds blew stronger and white fogs surrounded them.

"What is this?" Rikuo questioned.

The circling white fogs created electricity, and slowing down, a little girl appeared in front of Rikuo and Enma Ai.

It's _Kikuri_.

"Teehee," The little girl giggled, "I've come to take you back, Ai."

Enma Ai wondered, but when Rikuo started to let go of her carefully, she couldn't grasp it. She looked back at him, staring at him with a questioning look, "Why?"

"This is goodbye, Enma Ai, Hell girl," Nurarihyon said.

"Hell girl..." Enma Ai muttered, touching her collar.

"Ai," Rikuo called.

Enma Ai slowly moved to him, and held his sleeve. She looked at him in the eye, showing him some kind of regret inside. But it's not obvious.

"I will never forget you, Ai." Rikuo said, caressing her face.

Tears started to flow out from Enma Ai's eyes. She closed them and held Rikuo's hand that was holding her. She could feel something. _FINALLY..._

She took a breath in, and Rikuo wiped her tears.

"Don't cry," Rikuo said. "You're powerful enough to face the truth... The reality of the world you live in is there. Don't worry."

Kikuri took a step closer to Enma Ai and pulled her sleeve, "Let's go home." A third eye on her forehead opened.

Enma Ai looked at the little girl, and then looked back at Rikuo. She took a breath in and breathed out.

She somehow smiled at the yokai. "Thank you, "She said.

Cherry petals began to circulate from beneath them.

The moment she couldn't take it just by looking at him, Enma Ai ran to him, Rikuo welcomed her in with his arms open wide, and they were both crying, their eyes full of tears.

Rikuo held on to her as tight as he could, and Enma Ai gripping on his shoulders.

"You know...I've always loved you, Ai," Rikuo whispered to Enma Ai's ear. "I will always love you."

Enma Ai continued to cry.

The cherry petals flew up her body, bringing her up, making her look like a soul passing.

She smiled at Rikuo, and when their fingertips touched, their last moment together, Enma Ai whispered something that Rikuo could never grasp. He was so ever shocked.

Enma Ai and Kikuri disappeared in the midst of cherry petals, leaving Rikuo and his clan alone.

**It started to rain.**

"Master..." Yuki-onna uttered.

Rikuo was looking up to the path where Enma Ai had left.

He was clenching his fists and frowning, his face dark.

Nurarihyon took a closer look at Rikuo. He could see something that was very surprising even for him.

_ **Tears?! Even the Lord of Pandemonium is crying?!** _

That's freakin right. Rikuo is crying.

"Tch, what is this?" Rikuo said, covering his face with his hand.

"Master... You've done enough," Kubinashi said.

"It's time to let go," Kurotabo followed.

"Yeah," Rikuo said. He stared at the raining sky.

What DID Enma Ai say?

"_**I love you, Rikuo..."**_

Enma Ai, at that time, was able to gain back a little bit of her memories, so she was able to say her final words with a smile.

* * *

**A MONTH LATER:**

"Mission accomplished."

"_**I have received your vengeance."**_

**THE END**

**THE HELLGIRL AND THE LORD OF PANDEMONIUM**

** **


	26. The Beginning of After

_Sometimes being together with someone just leaves more marks, more scars, more pain._

_Leaving in itself isn't even the pain. It's those memories that's built in our relationship. Memories that we made that were fantastic. I loved all of them. They're worth everything to me, and yet it's all in the mind._

_It's all in my mind._

_Why did we even meet?_

_Your grandfather chose me, just as you told me. Was it fate? Were we meant to be?_

_We met under the moonlight, spontaneously, yet, it was, for me, exhilarating._

_Flashes of you keep on disturbing my peace, my serenity._

_Who are you?_

"Mistress?" Hone-onna called onto the girl who was submerged in the lake filled with and surrounded by Lycoris radiata.

Ai opened her eyes and slowly surfaced and stood up, then covering her naked body with a white kimono.

"Mistress, there you are!" Hone-onna approached the girl. "I've been looking for a long time for you."

"Hone-onna." Ai said.

"Uh, Mistress, Ren brought a basket of cherries for you." Hone-onna smiled. "He was wondering if you'd like to take a bite. You've been underwater for hours now, after all."

Enmai Ai stepped out of the lake, and together with her assistant, went back to the house.

As the group enjoyed the meal, Ai began to talk. "I've been seeing things."

The 3 assistant looked at her, curious.

"Things, Mistress?" Wanyuudou asked.

It's quite rare for her to voice out her problems.

"Hm.. it's been 7 years though," Hone-onna said.

"7 years?" Ai asked.

"Ah- oh, nothing!" Hone-onna waved her hands in front.

Ai looked back at her computer. "I see flashes of a… person, perhaps."

The 3 assistants stared at her, poker faced.

"All I know is that… he's not of this world. White and blue… moonlight… sa-kura…" Ai muttered and put her index finger on her mouth. "I've been dreaming of this everyday for years now, I guess. I didn't think much about it at the start, but once it began to come to me every night, I realized that something's—"

"Mistress!" IchimokuRen interfered. "Isn't that a bit too much?"

"Too much?"

"I mean… dreams don't mean anything. They're simply fragments of your imagination!"

Hone-onna nudged at the guy and frowned at him, clearly telling him to shut the f up.

"Mistress, regardless of those dreams, maybe it's better to leave them alone."

Enma Ai stared at her assistant for a few seconds, then she stood up and walked out.

"Could it be..?" Wanyuudou whispered.

"Could it be she remembers him?" IchimokuRen said.

-  
-

**In the Lake of Red Spider Lily**

Enma Ai was picking some flowers.

_Memories._

Out of the blue flashes of someone suddenly appeared in her mind. The white, long hair, the blue coat, the cherry tree, the mouth smirking; the blood red eyes.

Like experiencing syncope, she suddenly had to take a lot of deep breaths to be able to feel as if she's able to breathe normally.

"N-nura?" Her eyes widened as she whispered that word.

Is it all coming together?

All those nights of dreaming about a certain someone—more so a man. A man in her dreams who swept her away from her feet; a man whose voice caused the tingling of her ears; a man whose aura she could feel strongly pulling her.

But he never said a word in her dreams. But now…

Enma Ai curled and held onto her knees, hands crossing on elbows. She had tears in her eyes, though she didn't know the reason for it.

_What is that? Who is that? Nura? Is that the name of that person in my dreams? Do I have something to do with him?_

"Mistress!" Hone-onna came running toward the girl. "Mistress, we have a new job order." She said before noticing Ai's position. "Mistress, what's wrong?"

"I don't think I—" the girl tried to say, but was suddenly stopped when Kikuri appeared, riding her small toy car moving towards her.

"Heeeey Aiii!" Kikuri yelled. "Aiiii a new job! A new job!"

Enma Ai carefully stood up. As she started to walk away with Hone-onna, Kikuri called out to her. "Hey, Ai!"

She looked back at Kikuri.

"His name's Rikuo." The little girl smiled, laughed, and drove away.

Enma Ai was left dumbfounded at the sight of the girl. She closed her fists and brought one up to her left eye. "Ri—kuo.?"

That name. That very familiar name that I think I know comes only in my dreams. It's been finally said out loud. I couldn't piece those things together, but now I know.

She blinked 3 times.

"Let's go, Hone-onna." Ai said as she started to walk again.

"Uh-yes, Mistress." Hone-onna followed.

* * *

_ **Would you like to see what death is like?** _


	27. The Beginning of After Too

_Flashes of the girl keep bothering me every night. What's wrong with me? Why am I suddenly thinking about this person?_

"Master! Breakfast is ready!" Yuki-onna called Rikuo from outside of his room.

Rikuo sat up and scratched his head. His face puzzled.

He sighed.

He went to the dining room to find his mother preparing more food for the rest of the clan members.

"Hi, Rikuo! Did you sleep well?" Wakana asked.

"Uh – yeah, kinda." Rikuo started to eat.

"That's good. Lately Yuki-onna's been bugging me about something about you…" She started to say.

"About me? Whatcha talkin about, mom?" Rikuo questioned.

"Hmm… She tells me you've been spacing out more and more lately, and whenever you fall asleep you always say…" Wakana suddenly stopped talking.

"Say…?" Rikuo glanced at his mother.

Wakana disregarded her pause and continued to cook. She smiled and said, "Oh nevermind, Rikuo! Go ahead and eat!"

Rikuo paused for a while before going back to eat. He wondered.

_I've been saying things?_

* * *

**NIGHT**

Rikuo was sitting outside of his room, facing the cherry blossom tree in full bloom.

Yuki-onna happened to pass by him, and he called onto her.

"Tsurara, can you come here for a bit?"

"Ah – Master!" She immediately sat beside him. "What may I do for you?"

"Tsurara…"Rikuo went closer to Yuki-onna's face with the whispering gesture.

Yuki-onna's face started to turn red, and she closed her eyes. "M-m-master!?"

"Tsurara, what have you been telling mom about me?"

Yuki-onna opened her eyes. "Eh?"

"You know."

"Eh – ah – oh – Master…" Yuki-onna exhaled. "I have observed recently… Master… you haven't been yourself this week."

"This week?"

Yuki-onna nodded. "You're always staring out the window every class day, and when you're asleep you - …"

"I… What?"

Yuki-onna faced away from her master, implicating she really didn't want to say anything to him, even though she has the duty to do so.

Rikuo stared at her, one brow up. "Tsurara, what's been happening?"

Evidently, Rikuo here has been daydreaming more and more recently, and every night he says something that Yuki-onna has always heard, because the moment he says it, she's always been passing by his room – and so, she knows.

"You've been saying 'I miss you.' Master." Yuki-onna said. "Every night since the start of this week."

Rikuo's eyes widened, his pupils dilated.

Cherry blossom petals started falling all around him, flying with the wind.

"I miss… who…?" He uttered.

"Ai." The one who answered was not Yuki-onna. It was the yokai sitting on the branch of the cherry blossom tree.

Rikuo looked up to the yokai. He was looking down at him with the seductive smirk.

Something as simple as hearing that name sparked something inside of Rikuo. His heart skipped a beat at the mention of that name.

"Don't you remember her, human me?" The handsome yokai in red asked Rikuo. "Or have you forced her out of your memory?"

Rikuo's face darkened.

_No doubt about that. I cried my way out of it._

"Why… why now?"

"It's been 7 years, hasn't it, human me?" The yokai jumped down and walked towards Rikuo, who was staring on the ground.

"7 years?"

"Yeah. 7 years."

Rikuo looked up at the demon. "And what about you? You sound like you've moved on very efficiently from that." He was on the verge of crying out loud.

"Well you've suppressed your feelings so efficiently too." The yokai held out a hand to his human form. "Your anniversary's near." He smirked.

_Our 7_ _th_ _ anniversary?!_

Patches of wonderful memories suddenly appear all over Rikuo's mind. Her eyes, her hair, her kimono, her words, her voice.

The most overwhelming thing he remembered… when the girl told him she loved him.

"So… that's why I've been so conscious about things? No, I've been unconsciously conscious about those times." Rikuo uttered.

"And it has finally come to this." The yokai said.

Cherry blossom petals swirled around them, the moment it all flew up, Rikuo was already in his night form.

Yuki-onna was surprised to see him transform.

He was in his red haori.

"Yuki-onna." Rikuo said.

"M-master?!" Yuki-onna's face red.

"The nights are longer these days, aren't they?"

"Y-yes Master."

"Well then, take care of my room for me, Yuki-onna." Rikuo walked towards the misty exit of his home. "I'm gonna go hunting." He looked back and smirked before disappearing within his Fear.

_7 years, eh?_

_That's such a long time._

_I wonder what you look like now? Probably still the same, since you'll never get old. Unlike me. I may live for eternity, but that eternity right now is nothing to me if you're not with me._

_We promised to be friends forever. We said we loved each other. And now that my memories have been reminisced, there's no stopping me from getting back to you._

_This is what fate has lead us to. This is what our red strings have brought us to._

_We have no end in this world, and as I said before, everything around me will be brilliant if you're beside me._

_Let me see your face, Enma Ai._

**END**

** **

> _Our fates have been tied together once again_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for everything  


**Author's Note:**

> Twitter: @aloeemodin  
Tumblr: @narcopharmacist  
Deviantart: DestinyFvcker


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